Evaluating Students’ Cyber Ethics Awareness in a Gender-Segregated Environment Under the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Cyber ethics are essential components of information technology. The COVID-19 situation has brought unprecedented challenges to traditional higher education institutions, especially for students using their electronic devices in all their learning activities. This study focused on cyber ethics perceptions among university undergraduates’ students during COVID-19 conditions. It aims to analyze the extent to which distinct attributes, such as gender, education level, grades, or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), and major are related to cyber ethics awareness. An online survey was conducted on a sample of 322 undergraduates studying Information Technology majors and other majors to assess university students' cyber ethics awareness levels at a University in the UAE. The results show that, in general, respondents were aware of cyber ethics. In particular, gender and education level were found to directly affect cyber ethics awareness, while major and grades have no statistically significant effect.