The holistic analysis conducted in this article aimed to identify vulnerabilities, cyber-attacks and ways to mitigate them in IoT systems, which are increasingly implemented in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Industry 4.0 is gaining ground in academia, which governs with a large volume of sensitive data, and the growing use of IoT systems brings a number of undeniable benefits and growing challenges. The creation of smart university campuses, of innovative laboratories that allow the simulation of technological processes but also of smart classes that use a mix of technologies for the education of professionals in Industry 4.0, represents the future of education. That is why the security analysis of IoT systems is very important to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of academic data.