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Another Digital Divide: Cybersecurity in Indigenous Communities

External Link
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/sociologypub/55
Description

The Indigenous ‘digital divide’ relates to community-level disparities in access and use of online technologies, a prominent public policy issue that federal governments have attempted to address. Following from such efforts is an expected increase in communication and other technologies. However, concurrently, cybersecurity becomes a matter warranting consideration, as increased access means increased exposure to online harms for which many Indigenous communities may lack awareness, education, and prevention skills. To offer key insights relevant to this matter, this study conducted a systematic review of research pertaining to Indigeneity and cybersecurity issues. Findings show that critical subject areas, such as human trafficking and cyberbullying, are starkly under-researched and small in study volume. It was also discovered that there is very little diversity in research topics, rendering the research base narrow in scope. From these findings, this study concludes with several critical areas for future research and evaluation, as is necessary for public policy and prevention-oriented initiatives.

This is a 2023–2025 project led by InterAccess, in collaboration with Tangled Art + Disability, and FEZIHAUS™.