The Influence of Cyber Security Levels of South African Citizens on National Security

In South Africa, cyber security has been identified as a critical component contributing towards National Security. More rural communities are becoming integrated into the global village due to increased hardware and software corporate donations, the proliferation of mobile Internet devices and government programs aimed at bridging the digital divide through major broadband expansion projects. These measures facilitate the rapid growth of South African Internet citizens, both through desktop or laptop computers, iPads and mobile phones. Comprehensive research conducted by the authors show that many of the new Internet users are not aptly trained to protect themselves against online threats, leaving them vulnerable to online exploits and inherently exposing the national system to potential international cyber attacks. It is estimated that mobile phone penetration in South Africa is about 98%. In addition, it is suggested that 39% of urban and 27% of rural South Africans are browsing the Internet from their mobile phones Mobile phone penetration statistics are used in correlation with the economic development and exposure to technological advances of South Africans to classify participants in the survey in three groups: urban netizens, semi-rural netizens and rural netizens. South African citizens from areas within the Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces participated in this study. This article works towards the identification of any correlation between the economic development and mobile use propensity of Internet users with regard to National Security. The classification is based on availability of digital amenities, availability of and access to the Internet, the number of users per computer and the level of computer maintenance. Separate from these criteria, the availability of and access to the Internet via mobile phones has also been taken into consideration. The article uses the results from the surveys to identify direct and indirect links between the factors in question. These results are then used to extrapolate the potential threat factor to National Security based on South Africans' cyber security awareness levels. As part of a larger research study, the participants completed surveys regarding their exposure to technology and their responses to presented cyber scenarios.