Assessing the Levels of Knowledge of Personal Data Protection among Students

Abstract

Over recent years, the sharing of personal data among students is uncontrolled, especially on the social media networks, resulting in widespread data intrusions that compromise their privacy and confidentiality. Against this backdrop, this study was conducted to identify the level of knowledge of personal data protection among students. This research design of this study was based on a quantitative approach using a survey. The sample study was made up of 133 students at a public university in the state of Perak, consisting of 62 males and 71 females, aged between 17 and 24 years. The research instruments used were based on a set of multiple choice questions to gather information relating to their demographic and their levels of knowledge of personal data protection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test. The former showed that the respondents’ levels of knowledge of personal data protection were moderate, while the latter showed there was no significant difference in the levels of such knowledge between male and female respondents. Given this revelation, it is imperative for all stakeholders to increase the efforts to improve users’ knowledge of personal data protection through either the formal education or informal education.