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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many ways, the internet and cyber world is a dangerous place where innocent users can inadvertently fall prey to shrewd cyber criminals. These dangers, combined with a large portion of the South African population that has not had regular and sustained exposure to technology and broadband internet access, expose local communities to cyber threats. Research done by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the University of Venda shows that these local communities are not empowered to deal with these threats. To prevent innocent internet users from becoming victims of cyber attacks, an intensive awareness campaign is planned to educate novice internet and technology users with regard to basic security. The motivation for this awareness project is to educate all South Africans using the internet, in an attempt to strengthen the awareness level concerning the South African network - if there are local communities that are not properly educated, their technology devices may remain unprotected. This may leave the South African internet infrastructure vulnerable to attacks, posing a severe threat to national security. In this specific project, national security will be promoted through awareness training focusing on the newly released broadband capability and knowledge transfer within rural communities. To evaluate the current level of cyber security awareness, a series of exploratory surveys have been distributed to less technologically resourced entities in rural and deep rural communities within South Africa. By analysing the results of the surveys, it is possible to benchmark the current level of awareness. These observations can then be extrapolated to the larger group of rural South African communities. The next stage of the awareness evaluation project is to develop cyber security awareness training modules for the local communities in their native tongue, aimed to improve the current level of awareness. This paper discusses the preparation, evaluation and training of South African rural communities with regard to cyber security awareness. Due to the networked nature of the internet, the level of awareness has an influencing impact on the global community. Thus, to ensure a safely protected South African network, it is necessary to target the communities that can inadvertently leave the network vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]