Cybersecurity in European Higher Education: Insights from an Exploratory EUNIS Survey

9 pages•Published: June 18, 2026

Harald Gilch, Maren Lübcke and Mathias Stein

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an exploratory survey conducted within the EUNIS community to better understand the state of IT security in European higher education institutions. Building on previous comparative studies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the aim was to gain initial insights into current practices, organizational structures, external support mechanisms, and emerging challenges. A total of 19 institutions from ten European countries participated in the survey, providing qualitative and structural information that – despite the modest response rate – offers valuable indications of sector-wide trends. The findings show that universities face a complex constellation of challenges, including increasing threat dynamics, decentralized IT landscapes, limited resources, and growing regulatory requirements such as NIS2. At the same time, institutions report a wide range of preventive and reactive measures, advancing ISMS implementation, and improving cooperation within national and sector‑specific security networks. The paper concludes with an assessment of limitations and outlines options for a more comprehensive European‑wide study.

Keyphrases: cybersecurity, information security management systems, it security

In: Laurence Desnos, Carmen Diaz, Janina Mincer-Daszkiewicz, Lazaros Merakos, Raimund Vogl, Stuart McLellan and Ulrike Lucke (editors). Proceedings of EUNIS 2026 Annual Congress, vol 109, pages 61-69.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/Vxkw
	https://doi.org/10.29007/jr4l

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{EUNIS2026:Cybersecurity_European_Higher_Education,
  author    = {Harald Gilch and Maren Lübcke and Mathias Stein},
  title     = {Cybersecurity in European Higher Education: Insights from an Exploratory EUNIS Survey},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of EUNIS 2026 Annual Congress},
  editor    = {Laurence Desnos and Carmen Diaz and Janina Mincer-Daszkiewicz and Lazaros Merakos and Raimund Vogl and Stuart McLellan and Ulrike Lucke},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Computing},
  volume    = {109},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2398-7340},
  url       = {/publications/paper/Vxkw},
  doi       = {10.29007/jr4l},
  pages     = {61-69},
  year      = {2026}}

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