Social Engineering and Government Initiatives in Combating Cybercrime in China

Technology and the internet have become an essential need that can help our world to be fairer, peaceful, and just. This study investigated social engineering as the main variable in the commission of cybercrime and assessed the government actions to prevent cybercrime in China. This study adopted a descriptive-correlational research design and utilized the validated and reliable self-constructed survey questionnaire administered to 390 professionals selected through stratified random sampling. The findings revealed that the majority of the respondents were in their early adulthood stage, male, obtained a college degree, and belonged to the corporate industry; They moderately disagreed that social, psychological, and technical factors contributed to social engineering as an indicator of cybercrime incidence. Further, it was found that that they moderately disagreed on government initiatives in combatting cybercrime with regards to national cybersecurity strategies, cyber-defense initiatives and international cooperation. The study further found a significant relationship between social engineering as a factor in cybercrime and government initiatives to combat it, along with notable differences in perceptions of social engineering based on gender and education level while proposing a strategy to address social engineering factors in cybercrime. Based on the results, it hereby proposed measures to address the privacy and security dilemma which include strengthening transparency and fairness in data collection practices, enhancing public trust in law enforcement through tailored governance, providing targeted protection for vulnerable groups in resource allocation, and fostering international cooperation and support systems for cybercrime victims to improve overall cybersecurity and individual rights.