Operationalizing Cyber-Routine Activities Theory for Senior Cybercrime Prevention: An Evaluation of the SHIELD Training-the-Trainer Program
https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1229&context=ijcic
The topic of the article is senior cybercrime prevention and a program meant to prevent the elderly from becoming victims of cybercrime, as the elderly are more susceptible to scams. This relates to the principles of social science because it is a way to protect these people and change their social behaviors.
In order to test the efficacy of their program, they conducted interviews to receive qualitative feedback from those that were in the SHIELD initiative but did not attend training sessions, and also sent emails to arrange interviews to those who were in attendance of a session (Choi, Park Kim, Bong 2026). They used written notes to collect information and feedback on the trainings, and kept those who they interviewed anonymous. It seems like results differed, and there is no data but it’s mostly on the quality of the instructional program, and the feedback they claim to have received seems dependent on a number of factors including the specific instructor. They used “thematic analysis”, which appears to be used to recognize patterns within the data. (Choi, Park Kim, Bong 2026)
They used a “Train-The-Trainer,” model which is meant to be used to train instructors to teach the materials to others (Choi, Park Kim, Bong 2026). This was used to train community members to properly present this program to the elderly. It is a whole program including verbal and visual instruction and simulations designed to prepare the elderly to be safer in cyberspaces (Choi, Park Kim, Bong 2026). The article discusses the Cyber-Rat theory and continues by discussing Capable Guardianship and digital literacy’s impact on avoiding becoming a victim of cybercrime, in that the more literate someone is the less likely they are. This is important as elderly people tend to have less digital literacy.
This topic relates to the challenges, concerns and contributions of marginalized groups because it directly impacts elderly people, which are disproportionately impacted by scams. The study contributes to society because the program itself actively seeks to teach people better cyber behaviors and inform individuals about the risks of being online. It relates to the powerpoints because we have discussed scams, cyber hygiene, and specifically phishing email. As well as social factors that contribute to being targeted and falling for these scams.
References
Recommended Citation
Choi, K. , Park, I. , Kim, M. & Bong, J. (2026). Operationalizing Cyber-Routine Activities Theory for Senior Cybercrime Prevention: An Evaluation of the SHIELD Training-the-Trainer Program. International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime, 9(1), – . DOI:https://doi.org/10.52306/2578-3289.1229