<![CDATA[The use of digital services, such as digital banking, social media, academic portals, and e-commerce platforms, has become an important part of university students’ daily activities. However, frequent use of digital services does not always ensure adequate account security practices, leaving accounts potentially vulnerable to phishing, credential theft, and account takeover. This study aims to describe students’ awareness of account security and their self-reported account protection behavior when using digital services. A quantitative survey was conducted using 100 questionnaire responses collected from students at Universitas Malikussaleh. The questionnaire consisted of ten statements measured on a five-point scale, comprising five items on account security awareness and five items on self-reported account protection behavior. Data were analyzed using achievement indices, descriptive categorization, and Spearman’s rank correlation. The results show that account security awareness reached 81.32% and was categorized as very high, while self-reported account protection behavior reached 77.56% and was categorized as high. The Spearman correlation test showed a positive and significant relationship between the two variables (rho = 0.747, p < 0.001). Awareness exceeded self-reported protection behavior by 3.76 percentage points. These findings indicate a descriptive gap between account security awareness and reported protection behavior, although this difference was not tested for statistical significance. The findings can serve as an initial basis for developing account security literacy and education programs in higher education. However, because the data were self-reported and the eligibility of all respondents was not fully confirmed, the results should be interpreted as exploratory and should not be generalized to all undergraduate students at Universitas Malikussaleh.]]>
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