Cyber security on social media

: The self-disclosure of sensitive private information and risk of online blackmail on WhatsApp

Abstract

The intentional OSD of sensitive private information on SM can lead people to be vulnerable to online blackmail. Yet, few studies have examined the link between OSD and experiences of online blackmail. This study addresses this gap by exploring how common the intentional OSD of sensitive private information on WhatsApp is and developing and testing if a modified version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) can be used to understand the factors influencing OSD. It also examines how prevalent online blackmail arising from such disclosures is, if people report their victimisation and the response of criminal justice professionals to these incidents. An embedded mixed methods research design was used, consisting of an online survey of Omani WhatsApp adult users (n=1,452) supplemented by interviews conducted with victims and criminal justice officials (n=18). The results found 28% of survey participants reported often disclosing sensitive private information on WhatsApp and largely supported the use of the modified TPB to understand the factors influencing the OSD of sensitive private information on WhatsApp, with some minor adjustments. One in 20 (5%) of WhatsApp users aged over 18 in Oman reported being a victim of online blackmail due to their intentional OSD of sensitive private information on WhatsApp. Of those that were victimised, 58% reported their victimisation to a relevant authority and the majority were positive about the response of Omani criminal justice professionals to these incidents. However, issues and challenges remained, especially when blackmailers resided outside of Oman and people either remained reluctant to report their victimisation or delayed the reporting of their victimisation to the relevant authorities. This research makes an original contribution to our understanding of the relationship between the intentional OSD of sensitive private information on WhatsApp and the experience of becoming a victim of online blackmail due to these disclosures.

Thesis embargoed until 31st December 2025

Date of Award	Dec 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation of Oman
Supervisor	Michelle Butler (Supervisor), Andrew Percy (Supervisor) & Sakir Sezer (Supervisor)