Technology security in Russian education: highlighting socio-economic, technological, and ethical concerns

Abstract The increasing introduction of advanced technologies is bringing profound changes and poses multiple security risks to education. While the international literature offers many important insights into this topic, less is known about the Russian national context. To address this gap, our study examines security issues associated with the introduction of technology in education as reported in Russia-focused studies. The primary objective is to uncover educational technology concerns in a new national context and thereby complement the international debate. Our analysis identifies three broad areas of security concerns prevalent in the Russia-focused literature: socio-economic, including job (in)security and the digital divide; technological; and ethical, including information hygiene. These concerns are discussed in relation to the international literature, contributing to research on the intersection of educational technology and security from a new national perspective. Our findings suggest that issues such as the impact of EdTech on students’ mental health, potential threats to their existential security, and the long-term consequences of job insecurity resulting from technological advancement remain underexplored and require further attention. Additionally, there is a need for more in-depth investigation of the risks associated with the digital divide which contributes to unequal opportunities and social tensions, and for addressing the lack of ethical and legislative regulation in the digitisation process.