Cybersecurity Awareness and Ransomware-Related Practices among University Students

Abstract

The education sector is now one of the most targeted domains of cyberattacks, with ransomware being the most prevalent threat. The present study focuses on university students' security behaviours related to ransomware, especially email and phishing vulnerability, user access and credential practices, system and software hygiene, data protection habit, and threat perception. The sample was taken in a Hungarian university with a sample size of 85 respondents. The measuring instrument was an online questionnaire consisting of 11 questions answered on a 3-point Likert scale. The results present a mixed picture: respondents appear more security-aware in relation to e-mail phishing risks and system and software security hygiene, while showing lower levels of security in user access, credential practices, data backup, and threat perception. The analysis is descriptive and exploratory, relying on item-level proportions. The study provides exploratory insights into student cybersecurity awareness, grounded in data from a single higher education institution, and highlights directions for future, broader investigations. Targeted awareness campaigns with the mentioned focus points are required to support a more comprehensive defence against ransomware.