International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN: 2319-7064 ResearchGate Impact Factor (2018): 0.28 | SJIF (2019): 7.583 Volume 9 Issue 4, April 2020 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Analysis of the Security Threat and Vulnerability of Smartphone use among Tertiary Students in Ghana Issah Bala Abdulai 1 , Abu Sulemana 2 1 Kibi Presbyterian College of Education, Department of Mathematics & ICT, Kibi, Ghana 2 Al-Faruq College of Education, Department of Mathematics & ICT, Wenchi, Ghana Abstract: The study was to find out the extent at which tertiary students in Ghana use Smartphone, and to examine the level of awareness regarding security risks that accompany the use of smartphones among tertiary students. A cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect data in four tertiary institutions. Data was collected from 150 tertiary students. These tertiary students were randomly sampled during visits to the various institutions. Data was gathered through questionnaire for all participants. The data was analysed using frequency counts and percentages to answer research questions. The results indicated that, generally, most tertiary students in Ghana use android operating system smartphones. Besides, some of the tertiary students are not aware of the security threat and vulnerability that affect their smartphones. Furthermore, majority of the tertiary students in Ghana do not do enough to protect their smartphone from being attacked. Finally, the study suggests a training programme to equip the tertiary students to manage the threat efficiently. Keywords: Smartphone, Security Risk, Information Security, Operating System, Vulnerability 1. Introduction The new trends in mobile technologies have brought a new kind of device known as the smartphone. Smartphones are equipped with various operating systems just like those on notebook or desktop computers. These operating systems range from Android, iOS, windows, among others. These trends make smartphone operating systems vulnerable to many of the same threats as notebook and desktop operating systems. Many mobile phone users have shifted their passion to smartphones and among these passionate users are tertiary students. The widespread adoption of mobile technologies has dramatically affected the landscape of conducting research, particularly survey researchers [2], and those focusing on tertiary students are no exception. Research has shown that smartphone users, and university students in particular, are complacent when it comes to security behaviour in using smartphones [9][4][3]. Information security is considered as the act of protecting information as well as information systems from illegitimate access, usage, revelation, disruption, alteration, or destruction in order to obtain confidential report of an institution or an individual [6]. In view of this, most users perceive data stored on the smart devices to be private and worth protecting [13] [8]. 1.1 Research Problem Smartphones do not run uniform operating systems; as a result, each available operating system has its own unique attributes and employs different approaches regarding manipulation. Currently, there are many operating systems that come with smartphones; they include android, iOS, windows, symbian, and blackberry among others. Smartphone application face many of the security threats as traditional computers due to varieties of operating systems, besides, they are prone to physical loss and theft, physical damage and are often improperly handle which results in these devices being of considerable risk [7]. Some of the threats that are similar to those of the traditional computers are malware, attacks on individuals, hacking and denial of service [4] [12]. These issues pose many questions that need to be answered. To what extend do the tertiary students use smartphones in their learning processes? Are the students aware of the threats involves in using smartphones? How do the students safeguard the threats? These questions among others require answers. 1.2 Objectives The use of smartphones in tertiary institutions will continue to grow since they are considered as one of the emerging technologies in the 21 st century. Besides, it is the largest device use by learners in teaching and learning processes globally, as such making it vulnerable to security threats since people are not aware of the challenges surrounding smartphone usage. The number of students using smartphones to access learning resources, store personal data among others will rise astronomically in due course. But they may not engage in practices that will minimize potential threats. In this regard, the objectives used for the analysis of the security threat and vulnerability of smartphone uses among tertiary students in Ghana are as follows: a) To determine the extent at which tertiary students use smartphones in Ghana. b) Examine the level of awareness of security risks that accompany the use of smartphones among tertiary students in Ghana. 2. Review of Related Work Smartphones enable students to learn effectively because it reduces the time taking to get the content being taught through the interaction [10]. Smartphone usage also assists Paper ID: SR20419140549 DOI: 10.21275/SR20419140549 1643