SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORKS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: CHARACTERISTICS, COMPONENTS, AND CHALLENGES MILAGROS

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are becoming more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats due to their open and diverse systems and reliance on digital infrastructure for academic and administrative operations. This systematic literature review (SLR) investigates the characteristics, components, and challenges of cybersecurity frameworks tailored to HEIs. The study aims to consolidate insights from global and localized research to serve as a basis for developing effective and context-aware cybersecurity strategies. The review synthesizes 50 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2024. The results reveal that effective cybersecurity frameworks for HEIs must exhibit comprehensiveness (66% of mentions) and adaptability (grouped characteristics around 50%) to accommodate academic environments' dynamic and decentralized nature. Key components identified include awareness and training (52%), policy compliance mechanisms (52%), and continuous improvement practices (48%), which are critical for protecting institutional assets. Common implementation challenges include resource constraints (88%), implementation complexity (62%), cultural resistance (58%), and the evolving threat landscape (58%). These results demonstrate the discrepancy between existing frameworks and the actual operational reality of HEIs. This review contributes to the field by offering a structured synthesis of what constitutes a practical cybersecurity framework for HEIs grounded in empirical and conceptual research. It also establishes a foundation for further studies exploring the contextual adaptation of cybersecurity standards in academic settings