Computing students report limited cybersecurity assistance and substantial personal victimization, with 61% lacking a trusted person and 21% having fallen victim¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r1–r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2031: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Most participants (61%) had no trusted person to turn to for cybersecurity help or advice, and only 13% had a go-to person with IT expertise. → Adama 2026 q2 i? 21% of participants disclosed having fallen victim to at least one cyber scam or fraud, and 40% knew someone who had. → Adama 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Adama 2026¶

Adama, V., Biddle, R., Arachchilage, N., & Lottridge, D. (2026). Confident yet Concerned: Inconsistencies in Computing Students' Attitudes on Cybersecurity. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.18541 doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.18541

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Survey section on cybersecurity support networks among 236 computing students. The article reports "Most participants (61%) did not have trusted persons to whom to turn for cybersecurity help or advice", with only 13% reporting a go-to person with IT expertise and help-seeking generally infrequent.

"Most participants (61%) did not have trusted persons to whom to turn for cybersecurity help or advice. Only 19% indicated having someone they trust, and only 13% reported having a “Go-To” person with IT exper- tise/qualifications."

Adama 2026 (2)¶

Adama, V., Biddle, R., Arachchilage, N., & Lottridge, D. (2026). Confident yet Concerned: Inconsistencies in Computing Students' Attitudes on Cybersecurity. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.18541. doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.18541

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Self-reported cybercrime experiences in the same survey. The article states "21% of participants disclosed having fallen to at least one cyber scam or fraud", with reported types including online marketplace fraud, malicious links, and bank or card compromise; 40% knew a victim.

"21% of participants disclosed having fallen to at least one cyber scam or fraud. 16% reported they were not sure if they had fallen victim. 40% of participants reported knowing someone who had fallen victim to a scam or fraud."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Computing students learn cybersecurity mainly from informal sources outside the classroom, with word of mouth, social media, and financial institutions most common — related
• Victimized students reported negative school conditions at higher rates than nonvictims — related
• Two attitude clusters differ significantly on preparedness, confidence, and interest (p<.0001), with Cluster 1 lower on Pew and GSE but not SeBIS, and reporting more word-of-mouth learning — related