Identifying Characteristics Of Individuals Most Vulnerable To Mobile Phishing In Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Mobile phishing attacks represent a significant threat in today’s digital landscape, especially in countries with high smartphone usage rates. Saudi Arabia, with its 99% internet usage and 98.9% of users primarily accessing the internet through mobile phones, face a growing and persistent risk of mobile phishing. This dissertation investigates the effect of the demographic characteristics and security awareness of Saudi mobile users on their vulnerability to mobile phishing attacks. Through an online survey utilizing a mobile phishing IQ test, data was collected from 203 participants across various age groups, genders, educational levels, and general cybersecurity knowledge levels. Multiple regression analysis showed that while age and gender were not significant predictors of phishing vulnerability, educational level and general cybersecurity knowledge were positively associated with both accuracy and precision in identifying phishing attempts. The model explained 12.1% of the variance in accuracy (adjusted R square = 0.103) and 10.3% of the variance in precision (adjusted R square = 0.085). Notably, participants performed better at identifying phishing messages (from 89.2% to 98% accuracy) compared to genuine messages (from 62.6% to 82.8% accuracy). The study highlights the need for targeted awareness efforts and training programs, particularly for individuals with lower educational levels and limited cybersecurity knowledge. These findings add to the growing body of research on mobile phishing susceptibility and provide valuable insights for developing more effective strategies to combat mobile phishing attacks in Saudi Arabia and similar cultural contexts. Future research should focus on real-world mobile phishing scenarios and longitudinal studies to assess the long-term effectiveness of awareness strategies.