Significance of Information Security Awareness in the Higher Education Sector

Information security awareness is an important contributing factor for a successful information security plan and should be properly assessed in order to suggest improvements. This explorative study directly investigated and assessed the employee information security awareness levels within a South Australian Higher Education Institution for the purpose of providing much needed insight into the extent of information awareness levels in Australian organizations. Using an online questionnaire, the study revealed that the organization's employee information security awareness were generally lacking. The study also identified several problem areas which had plenty of room for improvements, thus paving the way for further research into how information security awareness levels can be improved. It is recommended that the organization include information security awareness as part of its overall risk assessment strategies in order to mitigate such risks. Finally, the adoption of programs which will enhance security awareness should also be explored in order to foster an organizational culture of security compliance, thereby minimizing any information security risks.