The Status and Management of Web-Related Security at Higher Education Institutions in Poland

Jackson Barreto, Paulina Rutecka, Karina Cicha, Pedro Pinto, Pedro Pinto

2024

Abstract

In an era marked by escalating cyber threats, the need for robust cybersecurity measures is paramount, especially for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). As custodians of sensitive information, HEIs must ensure secure channels for data transmission to protect their stakeholders. These institutions should increase their cyber resilience, recognizing the heightened risk they face from cybercriminal activities. A breach in an HEI’s cybersecurity can have severe consequences, ranging from data confidentiality breaches to operational disruptions and damage to institutional reputation. This paper conducts a comprehensive evaluation of the cybersecurity mechanisms in HEIs within Poland. The focus is on assessing the adoption of important web security protocols—Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) and Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC)—and the implementation of security headers on HEI websites. This study aims to provide a snapshot of the current cyber defense maturity in HEIs and to offer actionable insights for enhancing web security practices. The findings indicate a high adoption rate of HTTPS among HEIs, yet reveal significant gaps in web security practices. Also, there is a low adherence to security headers and an absence regarding DNSSEC implementation across the surveyed institutions. These results highlight crucial areas for improvement and underscore the need for HEIs in Poland to strengthen their web security measures, safeguarding their data and enhancing the overall cybersecurity resilience.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Barreto J., Rutecka P., Cicha K. and Pinto P. (2024). The Status and Management of Web-Related Security at Higher Education Institutions in Poland. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP; ISBN 978-989-758-683-5, SciTePress, pages 789-798. DOI: 10.5220/0012423000003648

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icissp24,
author={Jackson Barreto and Paulina Rutecka and Karina Cicha and Pedro Pinto},
title={The Status and Management of Web-Related Security at Higher Education Institutions in Poland},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP},
year={2024},
pages={789-798},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0012423000003648},
isbn={978-989-758-683-5},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP
TI - The Status and Management of Web-Related Security at Higher Education Institutions in Poland
SN - 978-989-758-683-5
AU - Barreto J.
AU - Rutecka P.
AU - Cicha K.
AU - Pinto P.
PY - 2024
SP - 789
EP - 798
DO - 10.5220/0012423000003648
PB - SciTePress