PRAGMATICS OF EXISTENCE: CYBERSECURITY, FORENSIC PRAGMATICS AND HUMAN EXISTENCE

Abstract

The paper investigates how forensic pragmatics can be applied to cybersecurity issues to preserve the integrity and sustainability of human life in an increasingly visual world. In a digital-driven world, human existence is increasingly threatened by sophisticated cyberattacks and the misuse of virtual platforms. As technology evolves, so do the methods of cybercriminals, whose actions not only affect digital infrastructure but also compromise individual safety, national security, and social stability. It aims to analyze how forensic pragmatics tools can enhance cybersecurity efforts and protect human existence by interpreting and addressing cybercrime discourse. The paper focuses on pragmatic elements (speech acts, implicature, context) in cybercriminal discourse, such as email scams, phishing messages, cyberbullying, and online fraud. The research is limited to selected case studies and data sources from Nigeria's cyberspace, court documents, digital threats, and online corpora. Meanwhile, the theoretical framework adopted for this study isSpeech Act theory (Austin, 1992; Searle, 169), Grice’s Cooperative Principle and maxims of conversation (Grice, 1975). Findings reveal that most cybercriminal messages heavily rely on indirect speech acts, implicatures, and urgency cues to manipulate the target. Noteworthy, over 80% of phishing emails used presupposition and contextual deixis (“here”, “how”, “your”, “account”) to pressure users into compliance. Also, linguistic ambiguity is a major tool to exploit victims’ cognitive biases and emotional responses (e.g.,fear, urgency, greed). Forensic pragmatics provided critical insights in 67% of examined cybercrime cases, particularly in distinguishing genuine versus manipulated intent. Cybercriminals mimicked intuitional politeness to reduce suspicion. The study concludes that protecting human existence in cyberspace requires not only robust digital infrastructures but also the integration of linguistic forensics and ethical consciousness in policy and practice.