Organization of Protection of Knowledge Control Results in Distance Learning Systems

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the consideration of information security problems in distance learning systems (DLS), which are becoming widespread in the modern world of educational services, as one of the most effective and promising training systems. The basic information about DLS that exist in the Ukrainian and foreign educational markets is given. The general principle of application of such training, the main functional components and objects of interaction within the framework of DLS are considered. The basic problems of information protection in modern distance learning systems and threats from the point of view of information security for such systems are analyzed in detail, the main goals that an attacker may pursue while carrying out attacks on DLS and vulnerabilities due to which he carries out these attacks are listed. Threats and destabilizing effects of accidental nature are also mentioned. The most common DLS's are compared according to such key parameters as threats of corrupt registration and authentication, threats of reliability of knowledge control results and threats of malicious software implementation. The main focus is on the approaches to the protection of DLS from threats of user substitution (both during the authorization and for an authorized user), threats of the usage of software bots and scripts (by applying the method of protection against the use of scripts based on hidden elements and the method of protection based on behavioral analysis), and also threats to the usage of lectures, electronic reference books and other third-party teaching materials. The mechanism of protection against threats to the reliability of knowledge control results is proposed, which describes actions of the DLS user and the server at the following stages: registration, login, user in the process of filling in the questionnaire, user completed the questionnaire, user starts the test / task and completed testing. This algorithm can be used in any distance learning system to protect from threats to the authenticity of knowledge, and its novelty consists in the usage of methods of user authentication and limiting the functionality available to those users.