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Due to the lack of awareness and poor cybersecurity practices that pose cyber threats during COVID-19 time, this research aims to explore user's attitude toward engaging in proactive cybersecurity awareness behavior.

Based on the theory of planned behavior, the relationship between multiple factors and their influence on the attitude is explored. A survey-based approach was utilized to collect responses and a model was proposed and tested on 229 respondents from the University of Petra-Jordan.

The attitude was significantly influenced by peers' influence and the individuals' cybersecurity threats awareness, especially threats that emerged during the COVID-19 time.

The research benefits decision makers in educational institutions who intend to develop cybersecurity awareness programs and helps them to assess user cybersecurity background weaknesses.

The research is the first to explore users' knowledge dimensions including organizational, information systems and social media as well as peers' influence on cybersecurity awareness. Also, it sheds light on the users’ perception of major cybersecurity hazards in COVID-19 time.

The purpose of this study is to focus on organisation’s cybersecurity strategy and propose a high-level programme for cybersecurity education and awareness to be used when targeting small- and medium-sized enterprises/businesses (SMEs/SMBs) at a city-level. An essential component of an organisation’s cybersecurity strategy is building awareness and education of online threats and how to protect corporate data and services. This programme is based on existing research and provides a unique insight into an ongoing city-based project with similar aims.

To structure this work, a scoping review was conducted of the literature in cybersecurity education and awareness, particularly for SMEs/SMBs. This theoretical analysis was complemented using a case study and reflecting on an ongoing, innovative programme that seeks to work with these businesses to significantly enhance their security posture. From these analyses, best practices and important lessons/recommendations to produce a high-level programme for cybersecurity education and awareness were recommended.

While the literature can be informative at guiding education and awareness programmes, it may not always reach real-world programmes. However, existing programmes, such as the one explored in this study, have great potential, but there can be room for improvement. Knowledge from each of these areas can, and should, be combined to the benefit of the academic and practitioner communities.

The study contributes to current research through the outline of a high-level programme for cybersecurity education and awareness targeting SMEs/SMBs. Through this research, literature in this space was examined and insights into the advances and challenges faced by an on-going programme were presented. These analyses allow us to craft a proposal for a core programme that can assist in improving the security education, awareness and training that targets SMEs/SMBs.

Smart-home security involves multilayered security challenges related to smart-home devices, networks, mobile applications, cloud servers and users. However, very few studies focus on smart-home users. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the potential interests of adult smart-home users in cybersecurity awareness training and nonfinancial rewards that may encourage them to adopt sound cybersecurity practices.

A total of 423 smart-home users between the ages of 25 and 64 completed a survey questionnaire for this study, with 224 participants from Japan and 199 from the UK.

Cultural factors considerably influence adult smart-home users’ attitudes toward cybersecurity. Specifically, cultural differences impact their willingness to participate in cybersecurity awareness training, their views on the importance of cybersecurity training for children and senior citizens and their preference for nonfinancial rewards as an incentive for good cybersecurity behavior. These results highlight the need to consider cultural differences and their potential impact when developing and implementing cybersecurity programs that target smart-home users.

This research has two main implications. First, it provides insights for information security professionals on the importance of designing cost-effective and time-efficient cybersecurity awareness training programs for smart-home users. Second, the findings may assist governments in establishing nonfinancial incentives to encourage greater uptake of cybersecurity practices among smart-home users.

The paper investigates whether adult smart-home users are willing to spend time and money to engage in cybersecurity awareness training and to encourage their children and elderly parents to participate in training, as well. In addition, the paper examines incentives, especially nonfinancial rewards, that may motivate adult smart-home users to adopt cybersecurity behaviors at home. Furthermore, the paper analyses demographic differences among smart-home users in Japan and the UK.

The purpose of this research paper is to evaluate and estimate the cybersecurity maturity and awareness risk for workforce management in railway transportation by using Railway-Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (R-C2M2) and Information Security Awareness Capability Model (ISACM), respectively.

This research uses a case study strategy, so primary data comprise the majority of data collected. These data were collected through interviews and questionnaires. The secondary data were collected from the literature, technical reports and standards.

The results show that there is a gap in cybersecurity awareness within the workforce and there is a need to improve this gap. This paper provides some of the recommendations and literature to enhance cybersecurity workforce culture within railway organizations.

In this paper, the authors have demonstrated that cybersecurity awareness has positive impact on the overall dependability of the railway system.

This paper describes the importance of cybersecurity awareness and training in building more cyber resiliency across the operation and maintenance of railway.

This paper aims to present the evaluation of a self-paced tool, CyberSecurity Coach (CYSEC), and discuss the adoption of CYSEC for cybersecurity capability improvement in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Cybersecurity is increasingly a concern for SMEs. Previous literature has explored the role of tools for awareness raising. However, few studies validated the effectiveness and usefulness of cybersecurity tools for SMEs in real-world practices.

This study is built on a qualitative approach to investigating how CYSEC is used in SMEs to support awareness raising and capability improvement. CYSEC was placed in operation in 12 SMEs. This study first conducted a survey study and then nine structured interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief information security officers (CISO).

The results emphasise that SMEs are heterogeneous. Thus, one cybersecurity solution may not suit all SMEs. The findings specify that the tool’s adoption varied quite widely. Four factors are primary determinants influencing the adoption of CYSEC: personalisation features, CEOs’ or CISOs’ awareness level, CEOs’ or CISOs’ cybersecurity and IT knowledge and skill and connection to cybersecurity expertise.

This empirical study provides new insights into how a self-paced tool has been used in SMEs. This study advances the understanding of cybersecurity activities in SMEs by studying the adoption of CYSEC. Moreover, this study proposes significant dimensions for future research.

The frequency and sophistication of cybercrimes are increasing. These cybercrimes are impacting government and private organizations as well as individuals. One of the countermeasures is to improve the cyber hygiene of the end-users. Serious games or game-based learning has emerged as a promising approach for implementing security education, training and awareness program. In this paper, the researchers propose a tabletop card game called Cyber Suraksha to increase threat awareness and motivate users to adopt recommended security controls for smartphone users. Cyber Suraksha provides an active learning environment for the players. This paper aims to provide the details of the design and evaluation of the game using a between-subjects design.

The researchers have used constructive learning theory and the Fogg behaviour model (FBM) to design a tabletop card game called Cyber Suraksha. The researchers evaluated the game using a between-subjects design. The participants' responses in the control and intervention groups were collected using the risk behaviour diagnosis scale. Pearson’s Chi-Square test with a 5% significance level was used to test the hypotheses.

The results indicate that the game is enjoyable and fun. Cyber Suraksha game effectively motivates users to adopt the recommended security control for the targeted behaviour. The results indicate that the participants in the intervention group are 2.65 times more likely to adopt recommended behaviour. The findings of this study provide evidence for the effectiveness of hope and fear appeals in improving cybersecurity awareness.

The generalizability of the study is limited because the sample size is small compared to the total number of smartphone users in India, and only students from computer/IT UG programs in India are used as participants in this study.

This study uses hope and a fear appeal to design an effective serious game. It also demonstrates using the FBM and constructive learning principles for effective serious game design. Cyber Suraksha is effective for the student group and may be tested with other age groups.

To the researchers' knowledge, there are no serious games for cybersecurity awareness focusing on the threats faced by smartphone users based on FBM and constructive learning theory. This research used hope along with a fear appeal to motivate smartphone users to adopt recommended security controls.

Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly widespread, and cybersecurity is therefore increasingly important. Although the technological aspects of cybersecurity are its best-known characteristics, the cybersecurity phenomenon goes beyond the detection of technological impacts, and encompasses all the dimensions of an organization. This study thus focusses on an additional set of organizational elements. The key elements of cybersecurity organizational readiness depicted here are cybersecurity awareness, cybersecurity culture and cybersecurity organizational resilience (OR). This study aims to qualitatively assess small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) overall level of organizational cybersecurity readiness.

This study focused on conducting a cybersecurity organizational readiness assessment using a sample of 53 Italian SMEs from the information and communication technology sector. Informed mixed method research, this study was conducted consistent with the principles of the explanatory sequential mixed method design, and adopting a quanti-qualitative methodology. The quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire. Qualitative data were subsequently collected through semi-structured interviews.

Although many elements of the technical aspects of cybersecurity OR have yielded very encouraging results, there are still some areas that require improvement. These include those facets that constitute the foundation of cybersecurity awareness, and, thus, a cybersecurity culture. This result highlights that the areas in need of improvement are exactly those that are most important in fighting against cyber threats via organizational cybersecurity readiness.

Although the importance of SMEs is obvious, evidence of such organizations’ attitudes to cybersecurity are still limited. This research is an attempt to depict the organizational issue related to cybersecurity, i.e. overall cybersecurity organizational readiness.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is embracing digital transformation and e-government services, aiming to improve efficiency, accessibility and citizen-centricity. Nonetheless, the country faces challenges such as evolving cyber threats. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing cybersecurity practices to ensure the reliability and security of e-government services.

This paper investigates the multifaceted dynamics of cybersecurity practices and their impact on the quality and effectiveness of e-government services. Five key factors explored include organizational culture, technology infrastructure, adherence to standards and regulations, employee training and awareness and financial investment in cybersecurity. This study used a quantitative method to gather data from 320 participants. The researcher collected 285 completed questionnaires, excluding unusable or incomplete responses, and analyzed the final data set using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The findings show that financial investment in cybersecurity, employee training and awareness and adherence to cybersecurity regulations significantly influence the adoption of robust cybersecurity practices. However, the relationship between organizational culture and cybersecurity practices is less straightforward. The research establishes a strong positive correlation between cybersecurity practices and e-government service quality, highlighting the role of security in fostering public trust and user satisfaction and meeting the evolving needs of citizens and businesses.

This research contributes valuable empirical evidence to the fields of e-government and cybersecurity, offering insights that can inform evidence-based policy decisions and resource allocation. By understanding the nuanced dynamics at play, Saudi Arabia is better poised to fortify its digital governance infrastructure and provide secure, high-quality e-government services to its constituents.

Employees must receive proper cybersecurity training so that they can recognize the threats to their organizations and take the appropriate actions to reduce cyber risks. However, many cybersecurity awareness training (CSAT) programs fall short due to their misaligned training focuses.

To help organizations develop effective CSAT programs, we have developed a theoretical framework for conducting a cost–benefit analysis of those CSAT programs. We differentiate them into three types of CSAT programs (constant, complementary and compensatory) by their costs and into four types of CSAT programs (negligible, consistent, increasing and diminishing) by their benefits. Also, we investigate the impact of CSAT programs with different costs and the benefits on a company's optimal degree of security.

Our findings indicate that the benefit of a CSAT program with different types of cost plays a disparate role in keeping, upgrading or lowering a company's existing security level. Ideally, a CSAT program should spend more of its expenses on training employees to deal with the security threats at a lower security level and to reduce more losses at a higher security level.

Our model serves as a benchmark that will help organizations allocate resources toward the development of successful CSAT programs.

In the modern digital realm, while artificial intelligence (AI) technologies pave the way for unprecedented opportunities, they also give rise to intricate cybersecurity issues, including threats like deepfakes and unanticipated AI-induced risks. This study aims to address the insufficient exploration of AI cybersecurity awareness in the current literature.

Using in-depth surveys across varied sectors (N = 150), the authors analyzed the correlation between the absence of AI risk content in organizational cybersecurity awareness programs and its impact on employee awareness.

A significant AI-risk knowledge void was observed among users: despite frequent interaction with AI tools, a majority remain unaware of specialized AI threats. A pronounced knowledge difference existed between those that are trained in AI risks and those who are not, more apparent among non-technical personnel and sectors managing sensitive information.

This study paves the way for thorough research, allowing for refinement of awareness initiatives tailored to distinct industries.

It is imperative for organizations to emphasize AI risk training, especially among non-technical staff. Industries handling sensitive data should be at the forefront.

Ensuring employees are aware of AI-related threats can lead to a safer digital environment for both organizations and society at large, given the pervasive nature of AI in everyday life.

Unlike most of the papers about AI risks, the authors do not trust subjective data from second hand papers, but use objective authentic data from the authors’ own up-to-date anonymous survey.