Safeguarding Digital Classrooms: Cybersecurity Implications of AI-Driven Tools in Cambodian Education

Abstract

In Cambodia, both universities and schools are using new artificial intelligence tools, such as Learning Management Systems (LMS) and automated proctoring systems. With these tools, however, important questions about cybersecurity remain unanswered. This article examines cybersecurity concerns associated with Cambodia’s increasing use of foreign providers and cross-border platforms of AI in education. The author analyses primary research results based on local case studies from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and provides a comparative analysis of other countries in the ASEAN region. The author sheds light on some of the most important educational, structural, and policy-related weaknesses of the education system in Cambodia. Some of the most important weaknesses documented in the research include the lack of effective data governance, reliance on proprietary, high-risk technologies, the absence of a formal incident response, the lack of digital skills among educators and students, and the lack of effective data governance. The absence of the Personal Data Protection Law and the Cybercrime Law only make these policy gaps worse and increases the risks to data sovereignty and the rights of students. The author provides a set of recommendations that are the result of a collaboration among educators, policymakers, tech providers, civil society, and AI developers. The recommendations include the establishment of digital trust, improved privacy regulations, the localization of educational AI, the incorporation of digital literacy into the curriculum, and the establishment of new public procurement regulations that will enhance the cybersecurity of educational institutions.