Understanding Cyber Safety Behavior Among Teenagers in Ghana
| Main Author: | Mathias Agbeko |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article Journal |
| Bahasa: | eng |
| Terbitan: |
, 2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/vol-19-no-6-jun-2021 |
Daftar Isi:
- The development of mobile technology and the expansion of internet access has raised concerns about the cyber safety of teenagers in cyber space. The purpose of this study is to investigate the cyber safety practices, cyber security awareness and teenagers’ experiences with cyberattacks in Ghana. This study adopted a descriptive survey research approach and targeted some public senior high schools in of Ghana. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection and it was used to collect data from 153 senior high school students who were conveniently sampled from eight (8) senior high schools in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The results showed that 74.5 percent of teenagers were aware of cybersecurity, 8.7 percent had been involved in cybercrime and their main motivation was either to make money and/or for fun. On the preventive measures against cyber-attacks, 42 percent said they changed their passwords whilst only 1.8 percent said they reported to the police. The cyber-attacks that teenagers often experience are malware attacks and phishing attacks. The study has revealed that these attacks are common among teenagers because they often open unknown email attachments and they fail to regularly update their antiviruses. It is therefore recommended that teenagers be more preventive than corrective in their approach toward cyber-attack. They need to periodically change their passwords and update their antiviruses. The security services should also be more proactive and apprehend perpetrators of cyber-attacks so that victims can have the confidence to report cyber cases to them. It is only in this way that the issue of online crime can be addressed effectively in Ghana. Keywords – Cyber Safety; Internet; Security; Awareness; Cyber-Attack