Cybersecurity Awareness on Cybercrime Among the Youth in Gauteng Province

Abstract

The increased independence on Internet has raised growing concerns that cyber security is becoming difficult to maintain. Not only do businesses depend on the internet for all types of electronic transactions, but home users increasingly also experience the immense benefit of the internet especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cyber security awareness and education are central to any attempt to secure cyber space. In the education system, youth must be made aware of the possible attacks and types of intruders. The rapid growth in the use of cyber space is not matched by the necessary skills. Therefore, there is a need for broad-based education initiatives on Internet safety and security to tackle the issues of child protection and social security in general. Cyber security and awareness become a vital issue because promoting awareness would contribute greatly towards cyber security as a whole. An interpretive research approach was adopted using a qualitative research method. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 participants, eight from the SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit. Five participants from Crime Intelligence Unit, which constituted of males, participated in this study and for the youth, the first author interviewed 29 participants, which consisted of 17 female and 12 male participants who were between the ages of 19 to 35 years. The findings indicated that there are currently no existing initiatives in the field of policing cybercrime in South Africa. There are currently no cyber security awareness programmes or preventive techniques by the SAPS targeting the youth. South Africa is still lacking behind in the strategy development regarding cybercrime and cyber security.