A framework for cyber safety awareness amongst first-year students in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
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Date
2025-05
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University of Fort Hare
Abstract
Technology has impacted every part of our daily lives and supports different activities ranging from communications, games, trade and commerce. Students also benefit from social networks, enabling quicker access to information and communication. The outbreak of Covid-19 resulted in a transition from traditional learning to online learning. However, the online learning environment brought a surge in cyber hazards, threats and assaults. In light of this, a cyber safety framework for first-year university students in the Eastern Cape of South Africa was required. The pragmatism research paradigm influenced the study, resulting in a quantitative research design selection. Online surveys created on the Survey Monkey platform were used to collect data. Several closed-ended questions used a Likert scale with a score of four (4). Microsoft Excel and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used for data analysis and display. Experts then reviewed the proposed framework in the field to evaluate its suitability for the higher education context. The feedback was incorporated into the final framework proposed by this study. The study's results revealed that university students' main online risks were cyber bullying, phishing scams, identity fraud, invitations to pornography and sexting. The more time the students spend online, the more online risks they face. The study's findings further showed that the level of cyber security knowledge leads to cyber safety awareness among first-year students in Eastern Cape. Research findings indicated that there are mixed cyber security attitudes, which affect cyber safety awareness. The factors required to develop the framework include attitude, risk, time, awareness and knowledge capacitation. Based on the study's findings, future research can use a sequential mixed methods approach to determine the views of key informants from universities, service providers and even parents on the different measures they provide to ensure cyber safety.
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Keywords
Computer security, Internet -- Safety measures