Human Factors in Privacy Research

Course Description Humans are often viewed as the weakest link in security. However, there is growing recognition that technology alone is insufficient to solve all security and privacy problems. Human factors play and essential role. A provably secure system is only as secure as the way users choose to use it, and system builders need to account for these user decisions if they wish to provide security and usability. In this class, we will cover a variety of usability and human interaction (HCI) problems of privacy and security. We will also cover common HCI methods that can be used to measure usability issues in security and privacy mechanisms. Students are expected to complete homeworks on the topic and complete a semester-long researh project designed to give students practical experience understanding and designing studies which evaluate usability issues in security and privacy systems.