Cybersecurity Awareness on Cybercrime Among the Youth in Gauteng Province ↔ Cybersecurity Awareness on Cybercrime Among the Youth in India

E-mail: aphanmp@unisa.ac.za http://dx.doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v6i8.1414 Gurukul International Multidisciplinary Research Journal (GIMRJ)with International Impact Factor 8.357 Peer Reviewed Journal DOI link - https://doi.org/10.69758/GIMRJ/2503I3IIVXIIIP0047 Page 267 Monthly Journal Peer Reviewed Journal ISSN No. 2394-8426 Indexed Journal Referred Journal http://www.gurukuljournal.com/ e-ISSN No. 2394-8426 Special Issue on Cyber Crime and Social Media Issue–III(II), Volume–XIII Cybersecurity Awareness on Cybercrime Among the Youth in India Dr. Vijay Parasram Tupe Asst. Professor, Orange City College of Social Work, Nagpur Abstract The increased independence on Internet has in raised India growing has concerns raised that growing cyber concerns security that is cyber becoming security difficult isbecoming to difficult maintain. to Not maintain. only Not do only businesses do depend businesses on depend the on internet the for internetfor all types of electronic transactions, but home users increasingly also experience the immense benefit of the internet especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cyber security awareness and education are central to any attempt to secure cyber space. In the education system, youth must be made aware of the possible attacks and types of intruders. The rapid growth in the use of cyber space is not matched by the necessary skills. Therefore, there is a need for broad-based education initiatives on Internet safety and security to tackle the issues of child protection and social security in general. Cyber security and awareness become a vital issue because promoting awareness would contribute greatly towards cyber security as a whole. An interpretive research approach was adopted using a qualitative research method. Data was collected from primary sources by The semi-structured interviews were interviewswhich conducted with 37 participants, eight from the participants of the SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit. Five participants from Unit and Crime Intelligence Unit, which constituted of males, participated in this study and for Unitfor the youth, the first author interviewed 29 participants, which consisted of 17 female and 12 male participants who youthwho were between the ages of 19 to 35 years. The findings indicated that there are currently no existing initiatives in the field of policing cybercrime in South Africa. There are currently no cyber security awareness programmes or preventive techniques by the SAPS targeting the youth. South Africa is still lacking behind in the strategy development regarding cybercrime and cyber security.

Keywords: Awareness; Cybercrime; Cybersecurity; Cyber-scam; Cyber Awareness; Net Behaviour; Social-Media; Police; Youth Introduction Youth. Introduction: Information Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of our daily lives, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its seems that almost everything relies on computers and the Internet these days, from communication, entertainment, transportation, shopping, etc. Cyber security is an important aspect of National Security and the safekeeping of a Nation’s constituency and resources. It International Journal of Social Science Research and Review http://ijssrr.com editor@ijssrr.com Volume 6, Issue 8 August, 2023 Pages: 23-32 Cybersecurity Awareness on Cybercrime Among the Youth in Gauteng Province 24 International Journal of Social Science Research and Review Volume 6, Issue 8 August, 2023 plays Itplays an important role in the ongoing development of Information Technology (IT), as well as Internet services. Enhancing cyber security and protecting critical protectingcritical information infrastructures are essential to each toeach nation’s security and economic well-being. Dlamini and Modise (2012) define cyber security as the collection thecollection of tools, policies, security concepts, security safeguards, guidelines, risk management approaches, actions, training, best practices, assurance and technologies that can be used to protect the cyber environment, organisation and user assets. Cyber security seeks to promote and ensure the overall security of digital information and information systems with a view to securing the information society (Orji, 2012).

Criminal laws regulating the cyberspace tend to result in fewer prosecutions due to the jurisdictional difficulties and additional resources required in tracking down cyber criminals in different countries all over the world. Currently there is lack of research on cyber security awareness initiatives conducted by the South African Police Service (SAPS). Cyber-attacks are launched continuously by cyber criminals because of the gaps in cybersecurity. Various studies and experts’ opinions estimate that the direct economic impact of cybercrime to be millions of Rands annually. Yet cybercrime continue to be an offence that most experts agree thar has just begun stirring and criminals are getting smarter and better equipped. The dangers associated with the lack of cyber awareness among youth render it vital for everyone using technology and all role players to be thoroughly alerted to and educated about cybersecurity. It is also difficult to obtain accurate cybercrime statistics because of the unknown number of crimes that goes undetected and unreported (Cassim, 2009: np). It is imperative for everyone using technology to be aware of the potential information safety risks and how to identify and prevent them. In many instances, home users neither understand nor are they aware of the cyber risks associated with cyber space as they are extremely vulnerable because of their inadequate knowledge and regarding how to protect themselves. They easily fall victim to cyber-attacks because they are ill-prepared to protect themselves in the cyber space.

More and more children own mobile devices and these mobile devices have access to the internet, and therefore can be used to connect to social media sites and gain web access. Children’s continuous use of social media has raised issues regarding their safety, privacy and abuse (Kritzinger, 2017:23). Risks such as cyberbullying can harm children physically and emotionally if they are not protected. It is vital that children are informed of such risks and how to protect themselves while they are cyber space. They should be properly enlightened on how to identify cyber risks and how to avoid or minimise them. It is important that they are encouraged to keep themselves cyber safe. It is clear that youth in South Africa are part of the technology-driven society. The biggest issue is that they are not properly educated on how to operate safely and securely in the technology environment. Lack of cybersecurity awareness can result in a great number of cyber threats that can lead to significant, long-lasting and negative impacts on the youth. No study of this nature was conducted in South Africa addressing cybersecurity awareness among the youth. Other studies generally addressed the lack of cybersecurity skills within the South African Police Service investigation units (Aphane & Mofokeng, 2021; Dlamini and Mlambo, 2019). This study attempt to close this gap by providing with information, regarding the youth perspective of their experiences and the lack of the SAPS in response to provide adequate awareness to the youth.

Neiss, Leigland, Carlson, and Janowsky (2009: 1305) are of the view that perception and awareness of the Hawks lack cyber capabilities. youth are dissimilar between age groups. This is because the youth and older people have different perspectives. Lifestyle Theory suggests that individual of different ages participate in different kinds of lifestyle. These lifestyle differences, therefore, expose individuals of different ages to varying levels of risk of victimisation (Reyns, 2010:99; Choi, 2008:308). It has been persistently reported that the youth are more likely to be victimised than older people. The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) (2010:3) submitted a report on cyber safety to the office of Privacy Commissioner in which they state that children and young people today are at home on the internet, while parents, caregivers, teachers, and politicians are relatively newcomers to the online environment, with varying degrees of interest in, August, 2023 knowledge of, and competency using digital technology. Knowledge is very important for the youth to prevent cybercrime (Curtis and Colwell, 2000:24; Wang, Chou & Tsai, 2008:360). Chawki (2005:55) states that educating the youth would help decrease the risk of them in cyberspace. Asokhia (2010:13) finds concurred that the level of education contributes significant differences to knowledge and awareness regarding the students’ perceptions of cybercrime. Knowledge helps people to be more aware notions of cybercrime (Levin, Foster, West, Nicholson, Hermandez and Cukier, 2008: np). is not visible or active reactions of youth in relation with The number of cybercrime victims could be reduced by introducing proper awareness activities such educational activities, as training programmes, sufficient resource for compliance, develop policies and regulations and sufficient protection of personal information (Choi, 2008:308; Levin et al., 2008: np; Chawki, 2005:50; Bougaardt and Kyobe, 2011:167). Choi (2008: 308-333) emphasises on the effectiveness of university programmes in promoting knowledge and values about cybercrime as these programmes could improve future behaviour of students’ towards cybercrime in terms of safety and security. This would establish norms and adjust prospects for illegal or delinquent behaviours. Based on the review of above literatures it is anticipated that gender, age, and knowledge have significant influences on cybercrime. Children and adolescents represent a vulnerable group of users who spend a lot of time on the web and on social networks. They are exposed to the same threats as adults but the effect on them can be more even more devastating. These days, a worst fear in teenager’s eyes is cyber bullying. It is becoming an alarming trend there were none in the society. Youths are using Gauteng Province. Responses paint a bleak picture as the internet for playing games and communicating with friends, maintaining online blogs concerning their lives and interests, and using social networking sites to develop and maintain relationships. Each of these behaviours could potentially lead a young person to encounter harassment. participants from both The internet behaviours of young people could potentially cause them severe harm, with some recent media reports linking cyber bullying and online harassment to suicide-related deaths and attempted suicides among juveniles. Cyber bullying is a fear when a person receives threats, negative comments or negative pictures or comments SAPS as well from other person (Das and Nayak, 2013: 148).

Cyber bullying is a negative effect of online communication between youth. Victims of cyber bullying often experience rumours, body shaming and lies spread on online social network. Bullies may post inappropriate or embarrassing pictures of their victims. Another aspect of cyber bullying involves using mean text messages as harassment. Cyber communication is society’s newest way to interact. Online social networking websites, text messages and emails provide users with an effective, quick way to communicate with people all over the world. Teens, in particular, spend hours online every day, on computers or personal electronic devices. With social networking sites becoming increasingly popular, youth are able to stay connected to real and online friends. Online communication tools open the door for friendships with other teens near and far. The risks that children may encounter when online are numerous and rather serious: exposure to inappropriate conversation; unwittingly becoming the subject of sexual fantasy; being sent indecent or obscene images; being asked to send indecent images of themselves or their friends; being engaged in sexually explicit talk; and being encouraged to perform sexual explicit acts on themselves or their friends.

Children and adolescents represent a vulnerable group of users who spend a lot of time on the web and on social networks. They are exposed to the same threats as adults, but the effect on them can even be more devastating. Bele, Dimc, Rozman and Jemec (2014:282) point out that the experience of abuse cause long-term effects on a person’s later life, both physical, and psychological. The latter includes feelings of guilt or responsibility for the abuse, low self-esteem, feeling of inferiority, and depression. With internet pornography, one must also realise that the child is victimised each time anybody watches material depicting his or her sexual abuse.

Due to the ease a lack of disseminating material on the web and the impossibility of removing material once it is published, it is very difficult to stop the cycle of abuse. According to Ephraim (2013), the craze of the youth for social media is associated with the psychological effects of adolescence. Adolescence is August, 2023 the period of self-discovery and awareness. It is also a period of in life when children seek independence from parents. In this phase of life, teens try to create an identity for themselves. They want to be accepted by their peers and respected by others. On social media platforms, these teens try to take on new personalities to fit the stereotypes around them. Many teenagers turn to social networks, using them as safe havens and media for establishing new identity, marketing of self and networking with other users to gain local and if possible, international popularity. Youths use social networks for a variety of purposes ranging from interpersonal connection to entertainment to research. They spend most of the time uploading pictures, posting opinions, obtaining current and social news, downloading wallpapers, ringtones, soft wares and music among other things. Chatting seems to be a major preoccupation of the adolescents on social networks as Facebook and other networks are used primarily as forums for communication exchange with friends after school and connecting with new ones. Cyber criminals are enjoying greater degrees of success on social networks because they are easier to target and users are more likely to fall for scams.

Social networking sites are becoming more and more prone to online attacks as users continue to grow by the day. Addiction to smartphones has led to a spike in the number of people falling victim to cybercrime. Smartphone applications have inherent vulnerabilities, allowing them to be compromised by hackers and security threats, (Khan, 2013:11). Smartphones have become a gateway for cyber criminals where once technology has been adopted, it is difficult to imagine life without it. Mobile applications are the new frontier for cybercrime. Due to the growing usage of mobile devices worldwide, web threats are no longer limited to conventional personal computers (PCs). App stores now serve as the sites for software download, while mobile apps serve as programmes we download onto our mobile devices. Users, including youth who download from app stores may end up downloading malware instead. Malware, short for malicious software, has become the latest attacking tool of cybercrime.

Research Methodology Research Materials and Methods A qualitative research approach was used for the study for adequate insight into solving and achieving the research problems and objectives. In-depth interviews were conducted with members of the SAPS in order to get an understanding of the level of awareness they provide to the youth in Gauteng, South Africa. The researcher adopted a non-probability purposive sampling comprising of eight participants from SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit and 29 youth, 17 females and 12 males who were between the ages of 19and 35 years. Of these participants, 12 were from City of Tshwane, 11 from City of Ekurhuleni and six from City of Johannesburg.

Data was analysed inductively and thematically. A qualitative data analysis involves organising the insights of the interviewees, and accounting for and explaining the data gathered. It involves making sense of the data in terms of the participants’ definitions of the situation, noting patterns, themes, categories and regularities. The primary instrument utilised to collect the data for this study was interview schedule within the three metropole, using semi-structured interviews to ensure consistency in the questions asked. The interview schedule consisted of open-ended questions, which enabled the researcher to seek further explanation to issues that might not be answered adequately by the participants. With the participant’s permission, the interviews were recorded using voice recorder and transcribed verbatim. The researcher began by translating all the recorded interviews into transcripts. The collected data was read several times to grasp the perspectives of the participants. Each interview transcription was reviewed individually, with themes emerging based on each participant‘s responses. After these themes were noted and labelled, the themes were integrated across participants. This lead to the eventual themes that were described in this study. Conclusions were drawn using a more qualitative approach of describing the August, 2023 themes that emerged, rather than conducting statistical analysis, as this study followed a qualitative research technique as highlighted earlier.

Ethical clearance was granted by the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) committee on the condition that the SAPS approve the request to conduct the research within their organisation. It was later changed to full ethical clearance following the approval of the research request by the SAPS. In agreement with the participants at Head Office, permission was requested and granted by the Gauteng Provincial Office, with reference number 25/7/2/1(201800040) in accordance with the National Instruction 1 of 2006. The Gauteng Provincial Office communicated with the Head Office to provide the lead researcher with contact details and allow the researcher to continue with the research.

Results and Discussion This section focuses on the findings of the study relating to the selected objectives. The aim of presenting the findings is to assess the level of awareness about cybercrime among the youth in the selected policing areas in Gauteng Province. There should be a co-ordinated approach by the SAPS in dealing with youth awareness regarding cybercrime and cybersecurity, in order how the victims should report such incidents. Due to educate lack of adequate awareness among the youth about regarding the dangers risks associated with the use of internet, a majority of the youth had inadequate capacity to be vigilant towards possible attacks. These pose a risk each time they connect to the internet, read an email or Page 268 Monthly Journal Peer Reviewed Journal ISSN No. 2394-8426 Indexed Journal Referred Journal http://www.gurukuljournal.com/ e-ISSN No. 2394-8426 Special Issue on cyber space. Two themes emerged from Crime and Social Media Issue–III(II), Volume–XIII download a free application. the data unfortunate part of their ignorance, is that there would become part of the statistics of victims and are presented below. increase lack of reporting of incidents to the local police. SAPS cannot fight cybercrime alone; they need to collaborate with other stakeholders as well as other countries.  Theme 1: Lack of Cyber Security Awareness When asked how effective cybercrime awareness campaigns were when targeted to the youth, it emerged from the findings that the majority of the participants concurred that not much has been done to increase educational awareness in the home, or in schools and colleges, particularly for vulnerable young people. The participants also emphasized the need to inform the development of training of the relevant stakeholders regarding the best practice for policing across a range of roles on educating the youth on cybercrime. It became clear during data collection process that the participants spoke with one voice with regards to public awareness remaining a challenge, and secondly: the secondly.The attacks towards ignorant youth were becoming increasingly sophisticated, which posed a challenge for the public in general. These are some of their responses quoted verbatim, and no corrections of their language were made:

“Personally I don’t think that they language.They have targeted the youth enough, enough; they have not made them a priority. They should be made a priority because that’s a target market for criminals as much as you look at fraud and scams where guys will target online banking. Specific type of criminals target targets specific market and if you look at child abduction, pedophiles paedophiles and other child criminals, they target youth. So So, youth need to be aware and from SAPS perspective, if we have more resources, more capacity, more training we could do much.” (KII-01:03:13)

“I think much. the youth does not made make aware of proper cyber protocols, strategies and security measures that they can implement to safeguard themselves. It could be disastrous.” ((KII-01:03:02)

“Youth disastrous. Youth become victims of cybercrime due to lack of awareness and information about cyber related crimes.” (KII: 01:06:02) crimes. The responses above highlighted the lack of knowledge as well as awareness posed by the internet amongst the youth. This is seen as one  Cyber-scam and Cyber Victim: Most of the factors affecting society, as most of the youth become victims of cybercrime. The cybercrime.The victims affected through various forms, such as but not limited to cyberbullying and identity theft. Lack of knowledge on the dangers lurking in the internet by the youth, could also raise the risks such as unsecure behaviour, which, renders users in South Africa easy targets for cyber criminals. The implications are that, apart from adjustment for well-known scams targeting the youth, law-makers must continuously analyse new and developing types of cybercrime to ensure their August, 2023 effective theireffective criminalisation. Considering the actual level of knowledge, awareness and strategies of the SAPS towards cybercrime targeting the youth, some of the responses from youth are as follows:

“It youth.It is given that every victim of crime should report a violation of his or her rights to the local police station. Since the SAPS are silent on the issue of cybercrime, do we have to report such incidents to my local station? Those people are clueless about these things. The state and the SAPS should play an active role in reaching out to the youth regarding how to be vigilant towards cybercrimes. Currently, there is a lack of clarity for victims about how and where different types of cybercrime should be reported.” (P3 JHB-04:01:03)

“I am not aware if reported. the SAPS DCI plays active role towards informing the youth Page 269 Monthly Journal Peer Reviewed Journal ISSN No. 2394-8426 Indexed Journal Referred Journal http://www.gurukuljournal.com/ e-ISSN No. 2394-8426 Special Issue on Cyber Crime and Social Media Issue–III(II), Volume–XIII about the dangers of the cybercrime. Therefore, it essential that, in case of victimisation, those who fall victim to cybercrime need to know where to report it and get assistance. The uncertainty about how and where to report can deter victims from reporting, limiting our ability to respond to and understand cybercrime. For now, you bring something to us that is really creating confusion as to whether the SAPS actually, has capacity to even attend to these kinds of challenges. I guess, challenges, they are more concerned with violent crimes. The youth are left on their own that is why recently, there isolated reports in the media concerning some of the youth involved in acts of terrorism or extremism. If I become a victim, the SAPS should let us know, what to do in order to reduce confusion around cybercrime and how to report it.” (P1 PTA-04:01:03) it.  Theme 2: Lack of Collaboration Among Role Players to Respond Adequately to Cybercrime Cybercrime: When asked how effective collaboration was among the role players to respond adequately to cybercrime targeting the youth, the majority of the participants from both the youth and the SAPS lacked effective collaboration. The participants highlighted that there was a huge need for the SAPS to collaborate with other stakeholders. Participants alluded to the fact that cybercrime is different from other traditional crimes, where there is no crime scene, perpetrators may be miles away from the victims and the modus operandi modusoperandi is much more sophisticated. The participants also indicated that the SAPS lacks sufficient infrastructure for information sharing and international co-operation in relations to share best practices to respond to cybercrime targeting the youth.

It also emerged from the majority of the participants from both the SAPS and the youth, that the private companies and organisations, are often the first to become aware of emerging cybercrime threats, are the most at risk of such attacks, and are also best-placed to protect themselves as well as inform the public against such attacks. The participants were of the view that information sharing arrangements between private-public privatepublic organisations, especially with the SAPS, must be robust and effective. While there are sound policy reasons for certain barriers to information sharing, including privacy, commercial, and national security concerns, these must be balanced with the importance of sharing information to support our collective efforts to address the cybercrime challenge. The following are the responses from the SAPS officers when asked what could be done to improve the collaboration among role-players to respond adequately to cybercrime in order to reduce victimisation among youth:

“I think youth.It is the best way would be to be more transparent, to have public and private negotiations or better working relationships. The private sector has certain skills and values and techniques that the public, for example SAPS, would not have. So, the private sector will also have certain techniques that we use or maybe specific training that we use that they don’t, so I will always prefer brainstorming sessions, conferences, work sessions, more transparency between the two SAPS and private sectors because you will start benefiting one another when you start working together. For example, banks will have certain threats that SAPS will know about but have not identified or have not gone around the specific technique that the banks would use and vice versa. And as for prosecution, all cybercrime related cases are reported to the police, so who’s really August, 2023 doing prosecution, the police. If the banks do not Page 270 Monthly Journal Peer Reviewed Journal ISSN No. 2394-8426 Indexed Journal Referred Journal http://www.gurukuljournal.com/ e-ISSN No. 2394-8426 Special Issue on Cyber Crime and Social Media Issue–III(II), Volume–XIII assist the police and vice versa or do not share their knowledge, skills, you can never fight the battle on your own. They cannot fight it on their own either.” (SAPS3)

Conclusion There is a critical absence either. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY  Objective:  To know the status of the cyber security awareness and prevention measures nature of education in India and the central to any attempt to secure cyber space.  To study the types, nature and consequences of cybercrime in India and its solution.  Research Materials and Methods A qualitative research approach was used for individuals the study for adequate insight into solving and businesses in South Africa. There are millions achieving the research problems and objectives. In-depth interviews were conducted with members of internet users across the country with more malicious mobile apps emerging at a rapid speed. This rapid growth is facilitating the emergence of new attack vectors and opportunities for cyber criminals. It poses a significant future threat, especially among youth that are constantly exploring the new apps on their mobile devices. The SAPS and Hawks lack cyber capabilities. Youth concurred that in order to get an understanding of the level of knowledge and awareness regarding they provide to the notions of cybercrime is not visible or active reactions of youth in relation with India. the educational activities, researcher adopted a non-probability purposive sampling comprising of Crime Intelligence Unit who were between the ages of 19and 35 years. Data was analysed inductively and thematically. A qualitative data analysis involves organising the insights of the interviewees, and accounting for and explaining the data gathered. Conclusions were drawn using a more qualitative approach of describing thethemes that emerged, rather than conducting statistical analysis, as there were none this study followed a qualitative research technique as highlighted earlier. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This section focuses on the findings of the study relating to the selected objectives. The aim of presenting the findings is to assess the level of awareness about cybercrime among the youth in the selected policing areas in Gauteng Province. Responses paint There should be a bleak picture as the participants from both co-ordinated approach by the SAPS as well from the in dealing with youth that due to a lack of awareness regarding cybercrime and how cybersecurity, in order to educate youth about the victims should report such incidents. dangers of cyber space. Two themes emerged from the data and are presented below.  Cyber Threat and Cyber Awareness: Cyber security seeks to promote and ensure the overall security of digital information and information systems with a view to securing the information society. Criminal laws regulating the cyberspace tend to result in fewer prosecutions Due to the jurisdictional difficulties and additional resources required in tracking down cyber criminals in different countries all over the world. Currently there is lack of adequate research on cyber security awareness initiatives conducted by the South African Police Service (SAPS). Cyber-attacks are launched continuously by cyber criminals because of the gaps in cybersecurity. Various studies and experts’ opinions estimate that the direct economic impact of cybercrime to be millions of Rands annually. Yet cybercrime continue tobe an offence that most experts agree thar has just begun stirring and criminals are getting smarter and better equipped. The dangers associated with the lack of cyber awareness among youth render it vital for everyone using technology and all role players to be thoroughly alerted to and educated about cybersecurity. It is also difficult to obtain accurate cybercrime statistics because of the unknown number of crimes that goes undetected and unreported. It is imperative for everyone using technology to be aware of the potential information safety risks and how to identify and prevent them. In many instances, home users neither understand nor are they aware of the cyber risks associated with cyber space as they are Page 271 Monthly Journal Peer Reviewed Journal ISSN No. 2394-8426 Indexed Journal Referred Journal http://www.gurukuljournal.com/ e-ISSN No. 2394-8426 Special Issue on Cyber Crime and Social Media Issue–III(II), Volume–XIII extremely vulnerable because of their inadequate knowledge and regarding how to protect themselves. They easily fall victim to cyber-attacks because they are ill-prepared to protect themselves in the cyber space. More and more children own mobile devices and these mobile devices have access to the internet, and therefore can be used to connect to social media sites and gain web access. Children’s continuous use of social media has raised issues regarding their safety, privacy and abuse. Risks such as cyberbullying can harm children physically and emotionally if they are not protected. It is vital that children are informed of such risks and how to protect themselves while they are cyber space. They should be properly enlightened on how to identify cyber risks and how to avoid or minimise them. It is important that they are encouraged to keep themselves cyber safe. Cyber criminals are enjoying greater degrees of success on social networks because they are easier to target and users are more likely to fall for scams.  Cyber Security and Indian Concern: The biggest issue is that they are not properly educated on how to operate safely and securely in the technology environment. Lack of cybersecurity awareness can result in a great number of cyber threats that can lead to significant, long-lasting and negative impacts on the youth. Very few studies of this nature were conducted in India addressing cybersecurity awareness among the youth regarding youth. Other studies generally addressed the risks associated with lack of cybersecurity skills within the use Indian Police Service investigation units. Lifestyle Theory suggests that individual of internet, a majority different ages participate indifferent kinds of lifestyle. These lifestyle differences, therefore, expose individuals of different ages to varying levels of risk of victimisation. It has been persistently reported that the youth had inadequate capacity are more likely to be vigilant towards possible attacks. These pose a risk each time they connect to the internet, read an email or download a free application. The unfortunate part of their ignorance, is that there would become part of the statistics of victims and increase lack of reporting of incidents to the local police.

SAPS cannot fight cybercrime alone, they victimised than older people. India needs to collaborate with other stakeholders as well as other countries. The fight against cybercrime and cyber threats requires a partnership between citizens, businesses, and government. There is a need for international collaboration of cybercrime and cyber security experts to enhance effective prevention. International collaboration is critical in securing the cyber space. Collaborating with countries that already have security would be crucial, as SA would learn from them as long as there is open communication and a willingness to give and accept input from others. South Africa need to create a massive awareness strategy since cybercrime occurs irrespective of age and education level. Awareness programmes are able to give basic knowledge about the safety in the cyber space. Internet users are as young as eight years old. Educating them, right from school is imperative as ignorance has been mooted as one of the main reasons that many people fall victims to cybercrime. There should be awareness raising to inform young people and parents about cybercrime through general awareness raising programmes programs in schools. Children should be taught computer ethics education in schools. The Department of Basic Education can hold workshops for both kids and parents for better understanding of the cyber space. This strategy can be adopted to higher learning institutions. Education, learning and simulation will ensure knowledge of how to respond, what to look for, and why this is important.

The awareness programmes need to be communicated throughout the different media platforms and to all other stakeholders.

The model on the next page was adopted from a study conducted in India regarding awareness among youth on cybercrime and cyber security. The model explains how an individual who uses Internet is connected with various stakeholders, which can be schools, retail outlets, social media platforms, private or government sectors or banks for various transactions on a daily basis. The government can take initiative of creating awareness among youth and stakeholders at various levels, with multiple approaches. The government can inform and educate all internet users on cybercrime and what security measures are in place. Banks can alert and educate their customers through their banking websites about the dangers of using internet banking and how to protect themselves. There must be a sharing of information between media, ethical hackers, educational sectors, law enforcement agencies by proving information to reach all members of the society whenever it is required. The government should be up to date in terms of their cyber security measures and make sure that they have an updated information and awareness. Page 274 Monthly Journal Peer Reviewed Journal ISSN No. 2394-8426 Indexed Journal Referred Journal http://www.gurukuljournal.com/ e-ISSN No. 2394-8426