Cybersecurity Awareness Among Hadhramout University Students: An Evaluative Study of Password Strength and Digital Practices

This study evaluates cybersecurity awareness and digital practices among undergraduate students at Hadhramout University, focusing on password strength, character length, complexity, and password reuse behaviors. A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional survey was administered using an online questionnaire via Google Forms to a sample of N = 830 undergraduate participants across diverse academic faculties. Password strength was technically evaluated and classified into weak, medium, and strong categories based on international benchmarks, including NIST SP 800-63B and OWASP guidelines. Findings reveal that only 23.5% (n = 195) of students utilize genuinely strong passwords, while 76.5% rely on weak or moderately vulnerable patterns. Furthermore, 75.9% (n = 630) of respondents engage in credential reuse across multiple personal, financial, and academic platforms. A critical disparity between self-perceived security and technical reality was uncovered: 68.1% (n = 565) of students firmly believed their passwords were strong, despite technical evaluation proving that less than a quarter met security criteria. Chi-square analysis confirmed significant cross-disciplinary differences (p < 0.05), with Information Technology and Computer Science students demonstrating higher security adoption compared to non-technical peers. Recommendations include mandatory campus-wide cybersecurity awareness initiatives, enforced institutional password policies, deployment of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and integration of password management tools.