Students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) rely on cyber technologies almost daily to perform a wide variety of tasks related to their studies. However, there are ethical guidelines that govern the use of these technologies that also guard against ethical violations. The study examined the level of awareness and knowledge on the cyber ethical behaviour of students in HEIs in South Africa. The factors influencing unethical cyber behaviour and cyber security measures to prevent cyber unethical behaviour among students in HEIs in South Africa were also investigated in this study, using content analysis method. The study was also guided by ethical theories, namely consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, and Kohlberg's theory of moral development. Although most of the students in HEIs are aware of unethical cyber behaviours such as cyber bullying, fraud, hacking, pornography, etc., it appears as if there is no collaborative approach for best practices in computer security and training on cyber ethical behaviour for the students within these institutions.
TopIntroduction
The use of cyber technologies and the Internet is prevalent in the digital world, and has become indispensable resources for exchanging information among users, devices and organizations. Therefore, every society is heavily dependent on technological-mediated communication in this digital transformation era, whereby physical borders are no longer boundaries to information and communication flow (Mohiuddin, 2006). Although digital transformation improves critical business operations and economic growth through the use of digital and cyber technologies, however, as noted by Tiirmaa-Klaar (2016), the application of these technologies poses ethical challenges to the society. As also noted by Gunarto (2015) cyber technologies have problematic implications as they create some cyber ethical issues such as personal privacy, access right and harmful actions. The excessive use of cyber technologies and Internet thus brings with it many social and cyber ethics-related issues affecting HEIs students. The students are operating in a new world with unlimited access to the information which could affect either learning habits positively or negatively, when interacting with cyber technologies. The unethical cyber practices have thus become a common feature among students in HEIs. As also noted by Khasawneh (2012) the majority of university students have engaged in cyber technology unethical acts such as copyright violations and digital piracy.
Cyber technologies thus expose HEIs students to myriad cyber-attacks and unethical cyber practices that may result in devastating outcomes or profound impact if appropriate measures are not implemented to mitigate the risks. These students and other internet users thus encounter a wide variety of unethical cyber behaviours on social media platforms, including cyberbullying, hacking, privacy violations, cyber-sex, fraud, pornography, digital piracy, cyber plagiarism, cybercrime etc. However, as indicated by Moor (2005) the students in HEIs lack the understanding and awareness of the ethical use of cyber technologies, leading to decisions taken without foreknowledge about ethical responsibilities and consequences. Unethical cyber behaviours have thus been prominent in many countries, in this digital world, whereby countermeasures and preventive measures against these behaviours need to be formulated. HEIs and other private institutions are under immense pressure as they are required to monitor unethical behaviours or acts closely as they may have implications on students’ professional life and society at large