TY - JOUR
T1 - Social engineering awareness and resilience in Egypt
T2 - a quantitative exploration
AU - Shehata, Ahmed
AU - Eldakar, Metwaly
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
PY - 2024/4/9
Y1 - 2024/4/9
N2 - Purpose: Social engineering is crucial in today’s digital landscape. As technology advances, malicious individuals exploit human judgment and trust. This study explores how age, education and occupation affect individuals’ awareness, skills and perceptions of social engineering. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach was used to survey a diverse demographic of Egyptian society. The survey was conducted in February 2023, and the participants were sourced from various Egyptian social media pages covering different topics. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including independent samples t-test and ANOVA, to compare awareness and skills across different groups. Findings: The study revealed that younger individuals and those with higher education tend to research social engineering more frequently. Males display a higher level of awareness but score lower in terms of social and psychological consequences as well as types of attacks when compared to females. The type of attack cannot be predicted based on age. Higher education is linked to greater awareness and ability to defend against attacks. Different occupations have varying levels of awareness, skills, and psychosocial consequences. The study emphasizes the importance of increasing awareness, education and implementing cybersecurity measures. Originality/value: This study’s originality lies in its focus on diverse Egyptian demographics, innovative recruitment via social media, comprehensive exploration of variables, statistical rigor, practical insights for cybersecurity education and diversity in educational and occupational backgrounds.
AB - Purpose: Social engineering is crucial in today’s digital landscape. As technology advances, malicious individuals exploit human judgment and trust. This study explores how age, education and occupation affect individuals’ awareness, skills and perceptions of social engineering. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach was used to survey a diverse demographic of Egyptian society. The survey was conducted in February 2023, and the participants were sourced from various Egyptian social media pages covering different topics. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including independent samples t-test and ANOVA, to compare awareness and skills across different groups. Findings: The study revealed that younger individuals and those with higher education tend to research social engineering more frequently. Males display a higher level of awareness but score lower in terms of social and psychological consequences as well as types of attacks when compared to females. The type of attack cannot be predicted based on age. Higher education is linked to greater awareness and ability to defend against attacks. Different occupations have varying levels of awareness, skills, and psychosocial consequences. The study emphasizes the importance of increasing awareness, education and implementing cybersecurity measures. Originality/value: This study’s originality lies in its focus on diverse Egyptian demographics, innovative recruitment via social media, comprehensive exploration of variables, statistical rigor, practical insights for cybersecurity education and diversity in educational and occupational backgrounds.
KW - Cyber-attacks
KW - Cybersecurity
KW - Egypt
KW - Information literacy
KW - Social engineering
KW - Social media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85189677898&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85189677898&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/28f26c88-c1af-305d-b95c-1fbd97e90b47/
U2 - 10.1108/lht-10-2023-0480
DO - 10.1108/lht-10-2023-0480
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85189677898
SN - 0737-8831
JO - Library Hi Tech
JF - Library Hi Tech
ER -