Cybersecurity Awareness Based on Software and E-mail Security with Statistical Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discover the impact of software security and e-mail security on overall cybersecurity among the students of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in Dammam. Another main purpose to conduct this study is to know the level of knowledge students have in the developing countries about the cybersecurity and how much are they mindful of cyber-attacks and the level of awareness among the university students. Two important hypotheses were studied to discover their importance in awareness of cybersecurity. One is software security, and the other is e-mail security. A total of 11 relevant questions were drafted, and then these questions were distributed among the university students, and around 390 responded to the questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed on the responses using tools. Initial tests such as validity and reliability test, feasibility test of a variable, correlation test, multicollinearity test, multiple regression, and Heteroskedasticity test were conducted using SPSS. And furthermore, multiple linear regression model and coefficient of determination, hypothesis test, ANOVA test, and partial test were conducted using ANOVA. The outcome of the analysis is software security variable (X1) that has a significant and positive effect on cybersecurity awareness ( $p$ value ≤0.001, β = 0.192). This shows that having a thorough understanding of software security can raise cybersecurity awareness up to 19.2%. E-mail security variable (X2) has a significant and positive effect on cybersecurityawareness ( $p$ -value ≤0.000). This shows that having a thorough understanding of email security can raise cybersecurity awareness up to 31.3%. Software security (X1) and e-mail security (X2) variables simultaneously have a significant effect on cybersecurity awareness ( $p$ -value ≤0.000) with a correlation coefficient of 12.1% (R2 = 0.121). This shows that the independent variable used can explain the level of cybersecurity awareness up to 12.1%. Research results show that students are aware of software or application updates. Furthermore, students’ awareness of email security is also good.