The Role of Culture in the Design of Effective Cybersecurity Training and Awareness Programmes. A Case Study of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The question whether culture of a society needs to be considered when designing cybersecurity training and awareness programs has recently risen in literature. While some programs may be effective in the west, they may not apply in the Middle East or Africa. Since cybersecurity has overtaken terrorism as the leading security concern globally, criticality of user training and awareness programmes cannot be overemphasized. This paper demonstrates that a cybersecurity training or awareness program that considers cultures of the people is more effective than generic one. Staff in a midsized organization were randomly divided into two groups. Group one consisting of Indians was treated to a culturally sensitive training programme in Hindi while group two consisting of Ugandans, Nepalese, Pakistanis and the Philippines undertook a generic one in English. A survey was conducted subsequent to the treatments. Results revealed that group one demonstrated better understanding of cybersecurity issues after one month.