Assessing Mobile Device Security Awareness Among First-Year Undergraduate Students in Ghana: The Case of The University of Cape Coast

Abstract

The mode of teaching and learning has seen major changes since the inception of COVID-19. Some institutions apply technology to integrate face-to-face teaching approaches with online learning systems or wholly teach some of their courses online. Mobile devices, therefore, play a significant role in promoting teaching and learning. The increasing use of these devices comes along with several vulnerabilities that have the internet as its major source. The question to ask is, are students security conscious about or aware of these mobile security threats? Hence the intention is to assess mobile device security awareness among students at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. A descriptive design was used for the study. A total of 1600 first-year undergraduate students were selected for the study. The study revealed that most students have little knowledge of mobile device security such as not-knowing their serial number, IMEI, data encryption, or activated SIM card PIN and their behaviour towards mobile devices which included making their Bluetooth visible, connecting to any Wi-Fi so far as they would get internet connectivity, downloading applications and files on the internet without being protected, makes most vulnerable and exposes them to a higher risk of being hacked and invaded by intruders.