Abstract This study investigates the impact of social media usage on information security among students at King Faisal University in Chad. The study examines usage patterns, cybersecurity awareness, and behavioral factors associated with exposure to cyber threats. A descriptive analytical approach was adopted using an electronic questionnaire distributed to 283 students. The findings revealed that WhatsApp was the most widely used platform (59.4%), while 14.1% of respondents reported previous account compromise incidents. The study also found a relatively high level of cybersecurity awareness, with an overall mean score of 4.07 out of 5. However, 65.7% of participants had never received formal cybersecurity training. Statistical analyses showed no significant relationship between the intensity of social media usage and exposure to cyberattacks. In contrast, a statistically significant relationship was found between clicking suspicious links and exposure to account compromise (p = 0.0017), indicating that unsafe digital behavior plays a more critical role in cybersecurity risks than usage duration itself. The study contributes to cybersecurity research in the Chadian academic context by highlighting the behavioral dimension of cyber risk exposure among university students.