The Impact of Knowledge of the Issue of Identification and Authentication on the Information Security of Adolescents in the Virtual Space

TL;DR

This study investigates how adolescents' knowledge of identification and authentication impacts their online security, revealing risky behaviors and advocating for digital literacy education to enhance their safety in virtual spaces.

Contribution

The paper provides empirical evidence linking adolescents' security behaviors to their knowledge of identification and authentication, proposing a model for assessing digital literacy levels.

Findings

Some students engage in risky online behaviors.

Risky behaviors increase vulnerability to cyber threats.

Education in digital literacy is necessary for improved security.

Abstract

Information security in the context of digital literacy is a digital skill that enables safe and purposeful movement through virtual space. The age limit and frequency of use of the Internet by young generations has been moved back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the concern for information security of young people is increasingly emphasized. If, and to what extent, knowledge of the issue of identification and authentication affects the information security of high school students aged 16 to 19 in the virtual space, the research question addressed by the authors of this paper was to determine which student behaviors pose a potential danger compromising their information security by establishing a correlation between the variables that determine student behavior and the variables used to examine their level of security in a virtual environment. The research was conducted using a questionnaire on a sample of high school students in the Republic of Croatia, the results of which showed that some students practice behaviors that are potentially dangerous, make them vulnerable and easy targets of cyber predators and attackers, which is why there is cause for concern and a need for a additional education of children of primary and secondary school age in the field of information security in the form of the introduction of the subject Digital Literacy. Based on the results, a model for assessing the level of digital literacy of adolescents that affect information literacy can be designed, but also further related research in the field of information literacy of children and youth can be conducted.