Cybersecurity Awareness and Practices among Women Traders in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Cybersecurity has emerged as an essential everyday life concept in the Internet era. Adopting a qualitative technique, this research investigated women traders’ awareness, attitudes and practices toward cybercrimes and their understanding of cybersecurity. The respondents demonstrated widespread use of smartphones and active engagement with the Internet, particularly through social media platforms. However, their level of cybersecurity knowledge and protective behavior was low. Even though awareness of cybercrime exists, it is largely informal and narrowly defined, centered on the concept of “yahoo yahoo”, while complex cyberthreats, such as phishing, malware, and data breaches, were not well understood. Some respondents had experienced cyberattacks, but this exposure has not translated into comprehensive cybersecurity practices because many of the women engaged in risky behaviors, such as using weak or predictable passwords, storing sensitive information on their devices, ignoring software updates, and interacting with unverified online content. These practices increase their vulnerability to cyber threats and highlight a critical deficiency in practical cybersecurity knowledge. Thus, the women, despite being active participants in the digital economy, remain highly susceptible to cyber risks due to limited digital literacy and a lack of structured cybersecurity training. The findings validate the need for targeted cybersecurity awareness campaigns that would address the exact limitations of this particular population of Internet users. Recommendations for cybersecurity awareness training programmes are presented and discussed.