Getting their Hands Stuck in the Cookie Jar - Students’ Security Awareness in 1:1 Laptop Schools

Fredrik Hellqvist, Samir Ibrahim, Robin Jatko, Annika Andersson, Karin Hedström

Abstract

This paper presents results from an ongoing research project studying schools that have implemented one-to-one-laptops (1:1). The research is interpretative and builds on interviews and survey-responses from students and teachers in two public 1:1 schools in Sweden. We are focusing on the students’ security awareness and compliance by researching into whether the students in 1:1 schools comply with the school’s information security policy (ISP). Theoretically, a security awareness perspective is drawn up  based on three parts - formal, cognitive and behavioral awareness - that should be in parity with each other. This means that the students’ psychological perception and actual behavior should be in parity with the schools’ ISP. Our findings show that the schools have communicated their ISPs well and that the students’ security awareness in most areas is equivalent to the schools’ ISPs. However, we also found many instances where it was not the case that the formal, cognitive and behavioral security awareness were  in parity with each other. In the analysis of the students’ behavioral security awareness we found that despite the fact that they were aware of the rules they occasionally violated them – most notably when file-sharing and the downloading of software were involved.  We conclude by arguing that non-compliance can only be understood based on an understanding of the students’ underlying reason for following or not following the policies and regulations, and that in order to create a secure information environment, school managers must  talk to the students to understand their reasoning.  In a situation where 1:1 is spreading rapidly among schools, studies regarding  students’ security awareness and behavior are urgent, but so far the field is under-examined.

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