Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of digital safety in Nigeria – a study of online journalists in Kano state

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Abstract

Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of digital safety in Nigeria – a study of online journalists in Kano state. This study examined the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of digital safety among journalists in Kano State. It aimed at examining the awareness of digital safety and threats and also the mechanisms used by Kano state online journalists to respond to such threats. The study adopted the Knowledge& Skills, Affective Attitude& Values, Processes& Methods (KAP) theory and the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). The study employed a survey method using structured questionnaire. Data were gathered from 210 respondents through simple random sampling and analyzed using Google forms. Findings of the study revealed that most online journalists in Kano state are quite aware of digital safety and digital threats. However, the majority of journalists just use strong passwords and changing passwords as a mechanism to prevent attacks online. Findings also show that most female journalists in Kano experienced intimidation and harassment online. This could be due to the fact that women in northern Nigeria are not given much freedom like men. Therefore, there is a high need for professional training of Kano journalists especially female journalists, on advanced strategies to prevent themselves and their data online..