CYBERSECURITY IN UKRAINIAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: MAIN PROBLEMS AND WAYS TO SOLUTIONS

Abstract

The actualization of the issue of cybersecurity in Ukrainian educational institutions is due to the sharp increase in the digital dependence of the educational process and the simultaneous increase in the number of cyber incidents in this area. Educational institutions are increasingly becoming objects of cyberattacks due to weak mechanisms for protecting personal data and insufficient training of participants in the educational process. The purpose of the study is to highlight the main problems of cybersecurity in Ukrainian educational institutions and find effective ways to solve them. The work uses the system analysis method to identify relationships between technological, organizational and personnel vulnerability factors; the content analysis method – to assess the current state of cybersecurity based on modern publications and regulatory sources; the classification method – to organize the main types of cyber threats; the problem-target analysis method – to identify key barriers to the implementation of security measures; the inductive generalization method – to formulate practical directions for solving the identified problems. The research has classified the types of cybercrimes in the educational environment, focusing not only on technical but also on socio-technical threats. The second task involved identifying the main barriers to implementing cybersecurity: six areas of problems were identified, including institutional unpreparedness, staff shortage, lack of funding, low digital culture, technical vulnerability, and fragmentation of security policies. The third task was to formulate strategic solutions, including: implementing integrated incident response policies, modernizing technical infrastructure, developing digital competence of personnel, and institutionalizing a culture of cyber hygiene. The study confirmed that to truly improve cybersecurity, educational institutions need not only to modernize infrastructure, but also to change management approaches, improve the digital culture of all participants in the educational process, and form a sustainable practice of responding to cyber threats.