User acceptance of systems for archiving and securing degree certificates and related documents.
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Date
2019
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Abstract
Changing economic circumstances have led to the investigation of alternative solutions to
economic problems. This has had an impact on communities who see academic qualifications
as a solution to securing employment. With the increase in job opportunities requiring suitable
qualifications, an increase in ‘qualification competition’ has occurred. This has resulted in
academic qualifications being seen as a ‘key’ to securing employment. Unfortunately, such a
perception has caused many individuals to pursue opportunities using ‘quick fix’ solutions and
acquiring academic qualifications through breaches of security around these qualifications.
Higher Education is one of the many sectors that is battling with security issues of this type. In
South Africa alone, for the past few years, there has been a considerable increase in cases of
persons who have been found to have faked either their senior certificates or university
degrees, including doctorates. This is becoming a growing concern as it taints the image of the
higher education sector in South Africa, and places at risk international relationshipsin higher
education and beyond that the country has enjoyed over many years.
Many education sectors are based on security systems in which the basic data of a person’s
name and surname, for example, are retained when they graduateand the qualification they
have legitimately received is recorded. This data is used when a re-print of a certificate is
required. Though this method has been working well for some time, it has developed major
flaws, in line with the sophistication of information and communications technology in
general. This applies especially to the ability to edit e-versions of a certificate using image
processing software. Thus, proper verification of the data captured in an e-version or hardcopy
of a certificate (when reprinted, for example), represents an increasing risk, and, in some
cases, results in a breach of security. Furthermore, some individuals have found ways to e-edit
and print their own certificates, which look effectively identical to the authenticated
certificates.
While the emerging trend in various sectors is to store all data using the appropriate technology
tools as a security measure for protecting information, organizations are becoming exposed to
cybercrimes. As a result, data security has increasingly become a cause for concern. What is
most disturbing, is that computer security breaches have increased, and in many cases, shown
to be the result of ‘insider misuse and abuse’ of the information security measures established
by an organization. It is for this reason that the current study and the work reported in this
thesis has been undertaken and involves a focus on understanding what causes users to accept
and follow an organization’s information systems security measures. The study is informed by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT),
as a framework to explore securing and archiving academic transcripts at the University of
KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The results showed that the intention of the UKZN staff to use the
system positively, relates to their performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence
and facilitating conditions. The use of UTAUT in a mixed methods study within an academic
environment assesses the existing measures of securing and archiving academic transcripts and
identifies various weaknesses in the current system. Based on the findings of the study, the
steganographic method is demonstrated and suggested as an improved method of securing and
archiving academic certificates at UKZN.
The original contribution is an in-depth study at UKZN that answered the user acceptance
research questions and demonstrated the practical application of the steganographic method in
securing and archiving data.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.