Cyber Security Threat Analysis In Higher Education Institutions As A Result Of Distance Learning

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on the organization of studies in higher education institutions (HEIs). Distance learning was the only possibility to continue the educational process, since March 2020. Cloud computing, online learning platforms and video conferencing applications, whose use was quite limited in HEIs, in the conditions of the pandemic with Covid-19, have become the main assets for conducting online studies. Thus, the risk of DoS / DDoS attacks, cross-site scripting, spoofing, unauthorized data access and infection with malicious programs, but also the theft of personal data has increased dramatically. The research was based on identifying the classes of attacks with major impact, on the assets, but also making recommendations for increasing cyber security in e-learning conditions. Common recommendations include updating systems and managing security patches, implementing access policies at the application or resource level, classifying information, and using cryptographic protocols.