Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Avoidance of Cybersecurity Threats with the Deployment of a Web-based Blockchain-Enabled Cybersecurity Awareness Model

Version 1 : Received: 3 July 2021 / Approved: 5 July 2021 / Online: 5 July 2021 (16:34:35 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Razaque, A.; Al Ajlan, A.; Melaoune, N.; Alotaibi, M.; Alotaibi, B.; Dias, I.; Oad, A.; Hariri, S.; Zhao, C. Avoidance of Cybersecurity Threats with the Deployment of a Web-Based Blockchain-Enabled Cybersecurity Awareness System. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 7880. Razaque, A.; Al Ajlan, A.; Melaoune, N.; Alotaibi, M.; Alotaibi, B.; Dias, I.; Oad, A.; Hariri, S.; Zhao, C. Avoidance of Cybersecurity Threats with the Deployment of a Web-Based Blockchain-Enabled Cybersecurity Awareness System. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 7880.

Abstract

The ignorance of or lack of knowledge about cybersecurity aspects causes a critical problem regarding confidentiality and privacy. This security problem will continue to exist even if the user possesses less expertise in information security. The modern IT technologies are well developed, and almost everyone uses the features of IT technologies and services within the Internet. However, people are being affected due to cybersecurity threats. People can adhere to the recommended cybersecurity guidelines, rules, adopted standards, and cybercrime preventive measures. However, it is not possible to entirely avoid cybercrimes. Cybercrimes often lead to sufficient business losses and spread forbidden themes (hatred, terrorism, child porn, etc.). Therefore, to reduce the risk of cybercrimes, a web-based Blockchain-enabled cybersecurity awareness program (WBCA) process is introduced in this paper. The proposed web-based cybersecurity awareness program trains users to improve their security skills. The proposed program helps with understanding the common behaviors of cybercriminals and improves user knowledge of cybersecurity hygiene, best cybersecurity practices, modern cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and trends. Furthermore, the proposed WBCA uses the Blockchain technology to protect the model from the potential threats. The proposed model is validated and tested using real-world cybersecurity topics with real users and cybersecurity experts. We anticipate that the proposed program can be extended to other domains, such as national or corporate courses, to increase the cybersecurity awareness level of users.

Keywords

Information security; Cybercrime; cyber awareness; cybersecurity basics; cybersecurity hygiene; Blockchain technology

Subject

Engineering, Control and Systems Engineering

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