A study of information security awareness and practices in Saudi Arabia

Although the Web, cell phone `apps' and cloud computing put a world of information at our fingertips, that information is under constant threat from cyber vandals and hackers. While awareness of information threats is growing in the Western world, in places like Saudi Arabia, information security is very poor. Unlike Western pluralistic democracies, Saudi Arabia is a highly-censored country, with a patriarchical and tribal culture, which may influence its poor information security rating. This paper examines the level of information security awareness (ISA) among the general public in Saudi Arabia, using an anonymous online survey, based on instruments produced by the Malaysian Cyber Security Organization and KPMG. The survey attracted 633 respondents and the results confirmed that ISA in Saudi Arabia is quite low. Several of the areas of weakness in ISA appear to be related to the level of censorship or the patriarchical and tribal nature of Saudi culture.