Title: Assessment of Cyber-Hygiene Practices for Research Data Security among Agricultural Education Lecturers in South-South Universities
Authors: Patience Yemi OLISA
Volume: 10
Issue: 9
Pages: 37-45
Publication Date: 2026/09/28
Abstract:
This study investigated the cyber hygiene practices and threat awareness of agriculture education teachers in South-South universities. The study used a descriptive survey research approach and recruited academic personnel from federal and state universities to analyze behavioral trends in physical data backup setups, credential management, and cognitive security understanding. The data collecting instruments were verified and evaluated with mean scores, standard deviations, and independent samples t-tests. The descriptive results demonstrated substantial, systemic weaknesses in physical data storage and account security in both institutional groupings. Every single analyzed data backup metric fell short of the sufficiency requirement, resulting in a poor pooled index score of 2.22. Similarly, credential management practices remained very weak, with a pooled cluster mean of 2.47, owing to a failure to implement multi-factor authentication or execute regular password changes. Faculty, on the other hand, displayed great cognitive literacy when it came to online risks, with a strong pooled awareness score of 2.65. Inferential testing revealed a large performance disparity between institutional tiers, with federal university faculty sustaining higher conceptual scores than state university educators as a result of coordinated capital investments and technical training. This stark disparity demonstrates that superior theoretical understanding does not readily convert into secure practices when hampered by high data prices, inadequate electricity grids, and limited organizational infrastructure. It is found that leaving data defense to personal discretion makes critical research assets extremely susceptible. The report suggests that university administrators implement automatic background backup procedures, impose multi-factor authentication methods, and offer significantly subsidized cloud storage access frameworks.