Cybersecurity in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Threats, Challenges, and Mitigation Strategies

Abstract

The digital transformation in institutions of higher learning has been very rapid, hence becoming a good target for the changing cyber threats. This study presents a systematic review of cybersecurity research in higher education published between 2020 and 2025. It aims to identify dominant threat types, key challenges, and prevailing mitigation strategies. A total of 45 peer-reviewed studies were analyzed, and the findings indicate that phishing attacks remain the most prevalent threat, reported in 75% of the reviewed studies, followed by denial-of-service attacks (62.5%) and ransomware (60%). This review exposes an interesting paradox, namely, although artificial intelligence and machine learning models are more effective in detecting the threat, the application of the traditional method is still prevalent (62.5%), as opposed to 15 percent of the studies devoted to the use of AI-based solutions, because of financial limitations, knowledge gaps, and the problem of privacy. The findings also indicate that the main causes of weakness in the open academic institutions are the human factor and the poor internal governance. Therefore, to keep the academic environment safe and to deal with the evolving cyber threats, it is essential to activate a multi-faceted security approach that involves the use of operative technologies, active educational programs (that are anchored on simulation and evaluation), and strengthened institutional cooperation.