Cybersecurity Awareness in Higher Education: Evaluating the Impact of Online Safety Campaigns
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59890/ijasr.v3i1.459Keywords:
Online Safety Awareness, Risky Online Behavior, Cybersecurity Education, Online Privacy, Cybercrime Prevention, Internet SecurityAbstract
The rise of digital technologies has increased university students' exposure to cyber risks, highlighting the need for effective online safety campaigns. This study examines their impact on reducing risky online behaviors using a quantitative survey. Findings show that targeted awareness programs improve cybersecurity knowledge, reducing unsafe activities like sharing personal information, falling for phishing scams, and weak password use. Frequent exposure to cybersecurity education fosters responsible digital behavior, emphasizing the need to integrate online safety programs into university curricula. Additionally, adaptive and interactive training methods are essential for long-term behavioral change. This study contributes to cybercrime prevention by providing insights into the effectiveness of digital safety education for young adults
References
Admass, W. S., Munaye, Y. Y., & Diro, A. A. (2024). Cyber security: State of the art, challenges and future directions. Cyber Security and Applications. sciencedirect.com
Ayyoub, H. Y., AlAhmad, A. A., Al-Serhan, A., Al-Abdallat, M. F., Boshmaf, H., Abu-Taleb, Y. A., ... & Alshamaileh, Y. (2022). Awareness of electronic crimes related to E-learning among students at the University of Jordan. Heliyon, 8(10). cell.com
Broadhurst, R., Skinner, K., Sifniotis, N., Matamoros-Macias, B., & Ipsen Fan, Y. (2019). Phishing and Cybercrime Risks in a University Student Community. [PDF]
Chowdhury, E. K. (2024). Examining the benefits and drawbacks of social media usage on academic performance: a study among university students in Bangladesh. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning. emerald.com
Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., Baabdullah, A. M., Ribeiro-Navarrete, S., Giannakis, M., Al-Debei, M. M., ... & Wamba, S. F. (2022). Metaverse beyond the hype: Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy. International journal of information management, 66, 102542. sciencedirect.com
Flayelle, M., Brevers, D., King, D. L., Maurage, P., Perales, J. C., & Billieux, J. (2023). A taxonomy of technology design features that promote potentially addictive online behaviours. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2(3), 136-150. researchgate.net
Foroutan, R. A., Sarokolaei, M. G., & Rezaeian, J. (2022). Online Customer Behavior: An Analysis of the Effects of Cognitive and Affective Trust. Current Chinese Science, 2(6), 434-449. researchgate.net
Galdolage, B. S., & Rasanjalee, R. S. (2022). Why do people move towards self-service technologies? Insights from banking sector in Sri Lanka. Journal of Business and Technology, 6(1). sljol.info
Grigorescu, A., Oprisan, O., Lincaru, C., & Pirciog, C. S. (2023). E-Banking convergence and the adopter’s behavior changing across EU countries. SAGE Open, 13(4), 21582440231220455. sagepub.com
Hill, B. (2017). Parents perceptions of the internet and its effects on their children. [PDF]
Huang, H. L., Cheng, L. K., Sun, P. C., & Chou, S. J. (2021). The effects of perceived identity threat and realistic threat on the negative attitudes and usage intentions toward hotel service robots: the moderating effect of the robot’s anthropomorphism. International Journal of Social Robotics, 13, 1599-1611. [HTML]
Jang, Y. & Ko, B. (2023). Online Safety for Children and Youth under the 4Cs Framework—A Focus on Digital Policies in Australia, Canada, and the UK. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Khaund, T., Kirdemir, B., Agarwal, N., Liu, H., & Morstatter, F. (2021). Social bots and their coordination during online campaigns: a survey. IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems, 9(2), 530-545. ieee.org
L. Innocenzi, R., Brown, K., Liggit, P., Tout, S., Tanner, A., Coutilish, T., & J Jenkins, R. (2018). Think Before You Click. Post. Type. Lessons learned from our University Cyber Security Awareness Campaign. [PDF]
Makleff, S., Garduño, J., Ivon Silva Márquez, V., Medina, S., Barindelli, F., & Marston, C. (2021). Collecting better data on sexuality, relationships and violence: empirical evidence from a school-based evaluation. osf.io
Mensah, G. B. (2023). Artificial intelligence and ethics: a comprehensive review of bias mitigation, transparency, and accountability in AI Systems. Preprint. researchgate.net
Nifakos, S., Chandramouli, K., Nikolaou, C. K., Papachristou, P., Koch, S., Panaousis, E., & Bonacina, S. (2021). Influence of human factors on cyber security within healthcare organisations: A systematic review. Sensors, 21(15), 5119. mdpi.com
Peterson, H. & Husu, L. (2023). Online panel work through a gender lens: implications of digital peer review meetings. Science and Public Policy. oup.com
Ramlah Hussein, *, Lambensa, F., & Baharuddin Anom, R. (2011). Information security behaviour : a descriptive analysis on a Malaysian public university. [PDF]
Schulte, P. A., Iavicoli, I., Fontana, L., Leka, S., Dollard, M. F., Salmen-Navarro, A., ... & Fischer, F. M. (2022). Occupational safety and health staging framework for decent work. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(17), 10842. mdpi.com
Shabahang, R., Aruguete, M. S., & Shim, H. (2021). Online news addiction: Future anxiety, fear of missing out on news, and interpersonal trust contribute to excessive online news consumption. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 11(2), e202105. ojcmt.net
Teimouri, M., Benrazavi, S. R., Griffiths, M. D., & Hassan, M. S. (2018). A model of online protection to reduce children's online risk exposure: empirical evidence from Asia. [PDF]
Zwilling, M., Klien, G., Lesjak, D., Wiechetek, Ł., Cetin, F., & Basim, H. N. (2022). Cyber security awareness, knowledge and behavior: A comparative study. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 62(1), 82-97. researchgate.net
