Abstract
Cybersecurity threats, including those involving machine learning, mal -ware, phishing, and cryptocurrency, have become more sophisticated. They target sensitive information and put institutions, governments, and individuals in a con-tinual state of risk. In 2019, phishing attacks became one of the most common and dangerous cyber threats. Such attacks attempt to steal sensitive data, such as login and payment card details, from financial, social, and educational websites. Many universities have suffered data breaches, serving as a prime example of victims of attacks on educational websites. Owing to advances in phishing tactics, strategies, and technologies, the end-user is the main victim of an attack scenario. According to several studies, the end-user can play a significant role in preventing a phishing attack. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the levels of user aware-ness regarding cyber threats and explore the relationship between the knowledge on cybercrimes and the awareness of phishing, within the context of cybercrime targeting educational websites. An observational experiment using 'think aloud' method was conducted with 20 students from Taif University. The results indi-cated that although the participants demonstrated an advanced level of informa-tion technology experience as specialists in computer science and computer engineering, their susceptibility to phishing was high. The results of this study will contribute to the cybersecurity research field in terms of proposing risk man-agement plans, delivering embedded training to end-users, and improving spam detecting tools.