Article can be found at: “The Need for a Cybersecurity Education Program for Internet Users with Limited English Proficiency” by Fawn T. Ngo, Rustu Deryol et al. (bridgew.edu)
In “The Need for a Cybersecurity Education Program for Internet Users with Limited English Proficiency” by Fawn T. Ngo and Rustu Deryol, we see the topic of the need for protections at the user level for people with Low English Proficiency (LEP). In this article we see how this relates to both the social science fields of Psychology as well as that of Law by both targeting people who are vulnerable due to proficiency as well as exploiting that for illegal purposes. The research indicates that approximately 8.5% of the population of the United States is in this vulnerable category and asserts that there is insufficient protections for this group of people (page 4 of this article). Further concerns noted by the article is that not only are the victims targeted based on this minority status, many did not understand user level concepts of internet security. They further found that in order to report a cybercrime or report that one has been victimized online, the website currently in use for centralized cybercrime reporting in the US is only available in English, making it more difficult for LEP victims to utilize. Questionnaires in primarily Spanish or Vietnamese were deployed as part of this study (page 5 of the article). The sample population was obtained voluntarily through the use of an area community development center. Of the respondents, it was a mix of middle aged for the Hispanic group and senior citizens for the Vietnamese group. They were given a questionnaire to indicate their beliefs and understandings about cyber security first. Then they were given cyber safety training modules using existing Internet Safety information protocols. After the final module another questionnaire asked them to rate the usefulness of the content. Study participants indicated that cyber crimes such as phishing, vishing, or account hacking had occurred for these victims 9 times in a 12 month period (page 11 of the article).
The final questionnaire indicated that while most users had gained substantial understanding of cyber crimes, only 50% intended to get antivirus software (page 13). However, a fifty percent improvement in user security for LEP groups is a vast improvement and should be commended.
This topic especially relates to the psychological impacts of account hacking as well as the legal implications. If hackers can gain access to LEP users online financial profiles, it could severely impact the victim’s ability to live successfully given that typically LEP is associated with lower education and lower earning potential. This especially impacts users whose bank accounts are compromised as the reporting times are typically shorter and it is harder to disavow bank withdrawals than it is to dispute credit card charges, further compromising LEP victims and impacting their mental well being as well as their physical ability to operate within the world.
Overall this study brings to light what may be a small group of less than ten percent of US foreign language internet users, but brings information about how we can promote user level cyber security for all, especially by addressing the language barriers for basic computer safety training. It also shows us where we are failing this group of users by not offering additional languages for the cyber crime reporting pages. And while 8.5% of the US is small for our country, given the size and population of our country, this is actually a very large and concerning number.
Ngo, Fawn T. “The Need for a Cybersecurity Education Program for Internet Users with Limited English Proficiency.” Bridgew.Edu, Bridgew.edu, vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&=&context=marc_reports. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.