Multimedia password retrieval programs in information security education
Antónia Szász, Gábor Kis · Journal of Applied Multimedia · 2019
The main objective of our research is to examine the impact of the information security course on students' habits, attitudes, and everyday security awareness, furthermore, to analyze and develop educational methods.In this study, two groups are compared.In Group 1, students were watching video recordings exemplifying password decryption by using programs.In Group 2, students could test these programs as well.When assessing the effectiveness of learning, exams focus on knowledge and skills, though hardly give insight into the change in attitude.Therefore, we tried to reveal the impact appearing in students' personal lives by examining their password and device usage.Before and after the course an online survey was carried out among safety engineering students.Answers about password management were scored according to their safety, or security risk.Comparisons of the groups and analysis of changes were performed by descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests.Based on multivariate statistical methods and qualitative analysis of the students' comments on their password habits, we evaluated the changes in the dimensions of security and awareness.In Group 1, password usage patterns did not change significantly.In Group 2, a significant improvement was demonstrated in the diversity and length of passwords, variety of character types used in passwords, frequency of password change, and in the use of foreign Wi-Fi.In conclusion, the mixed educational method facilitating student activity had greater impact on students' information security practices and awareness than the method applying only video demonstration which provides purely a passive reception.