Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Karen Card
Abstract
Faculty and staff working from home during the COVID pandemic were presented with new challenges in adapting to emergency remote teaching, as well as new and expanded cyber security threats. Changes to course delivery, remote access from public locations, and the potential of faculty and staff storing confidential educational records on university-issued devices, and potentially personally owned devices, made faculty and staff prime targets of malicious attackers. Information technology departments were challenged to support and secure the remote workforce from new cyber threats to protect their faculty, staff, and students from cyber-attacks. The focus of this study was to identify faculty and staff perceptions of cyber security, assess their understanding of cybersecurity policies and procedures, and to also identify concerns they viewed that needed to be addressed to be prepared for the future. Using descriptive research methodology, an online survey containing 37 items was created and sent to faculty and staff at a midwestern university to answer three research questions. The study identified that the faculty and staff at the institution surveyed understood the role they and others have at the university to protect the university from cyber threats. It was also identified that they understood the policies and procedures of the university regarding cyber security. Faculty and staff also identified various forms of technology and accessibility issues they feel need to be addressed if they are required to perform emergency remote teaching and support to maintain university operations.
Subject Categories
Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Leadership
Keywords
cyber security threats, cybersecurity policies and procedures, cyber-attacks, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY CONCERNS
Number of Pages
100
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Stevens, Garrett, "INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY CONCERNS FOR UNIVERSITY WORKFORCE AND SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE DURING A PANDEMIC" (2023). Dissertations and Theses. 175.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/175