69,066 research outputs found
Talking to the Overlooked: A Nationwide Telephone Survey with Four Groups Under-represented in Privacy and Security Studies
Online surveys - a primary research tool in the field of usable security and
privacy research - frequently rely on web-panel platforms. However, these
platforms tend not to generalize well to specific user groups. Our study
addresses this research gap by studying security and privacy perceptions of
four under-represented groups. We conducted telephone interviews with n = 1003
participants in Germany: (I) teenagers aged 14-17, (II) older adults 70+, (III)
people with low formal education, and (IV) people with migration background. We
found these groups to be under-represented in our online comparison survey. We
further identified target group-specific perceptions for each group compared to
the general population, e.g., regarding their experiences with cybercrime, and
provide detailed insight into the privacy and security knowledge and behavior
of each group. Our findings underscore the effectiveness of telephone
interviews and lay the foundation for further research on these groups
The Paradox of Social Media Security: A Study of IT Students’ Perceptions versus Behavior on Using Facebook
Social media plays an essential role in the modern society, enabling people to be better connected to each other and creating new opportunities for businesses. At the same time, social networking sites have become major targets for cyber-security attacks due to their massive user base. Many studies investigated the security vulnerabilities and privacy issues of social networking sites and made recommendations on how to mitigate security risks. Users are an integral part of any security mix. In this thesis, we explore the relationship between users’ security perceptions and their actual behavior on social networking sites. Protection motivation theory (PMT), initially developed to study fear appeals, has been widely used to examine people’s behavior in information security domains. We propose that PMT theory can also be adapted to explain and predict social media users’ behaviors that have security implications. We use a web-based survey to measure users’ security awareness on social networking sites and collect data on their actual behavior
Secure webs and buying intention: the moderating role of usability
El presente trabajo ha planteado un modelo conceptual a fin de mostrar como los antecedentes de la intención de
compra se ven reforzados en contextos de Webs altamente usables. Específicamente, el trabajo analiza en
profundidad el rol moderador de la usabilidad en la explicación de la conexión entre seguridad de una Web e
intención de compra. Entre ambos extremos (seguridad e intención de compra), se han incluido diversas
variables para explicar mejor su conexión. Para ello, ha sido diseñada una Web ficticia de ropa dirigida al
segmento joven de clase media. A fin de alterar la usabilidad de la Web se han realizado dos tipos de
manipulaciones: la velocidad y la facilidad de uso de la Web. Las dos Webs creadas (alta usabilidad y baja
usabilidad) fueron visitadas por un total de 170 encuestados que fueron compensados con un USB valorado en
15 euros. Los resultados muestran que la seguridad percibida en la Web acarrea tres interesantes efectos
(especialmente para la Web altamente usable): (i) mejora las actitudes agrado, (ii) reduce el nivel de riesgo
percibido; (iii) aumenta la confianza. Los dos últimos efectos, a su vez, acaban aumentando la intención de
compra.. Por último, se ha demostrado que la usabilidad, efectivamente, refuerza las relaciones consideradas en
el modelo propuesto para explicar la intención de compra.A conceptual model has been proposed to show how buying intention antecedents are reinforced in highly usable
contexts. Specifically, this paper deeply analyses the moderator role of system variables (usability) on explaining
the relationship between Web security and buying intention. Between both extremes (security and buying
intention), several relationships have also been stated to better explain this effect. An “ideal” fictitious Website
was designed for a non existent clothing company directed at the segment of middle class consumers. In order to
alter Web usability, two blocks of changes were made, one concerning Website speed and the other related to
ease of use. Our experiment sample consisted of 170 respondents who participated in exchange for a pen-drive
(USB) valued at 15 euros. The results show that improving website security has three interesting effects
(especially in high usable contexts): (i) it improves pleasure attitudes, (ii) reduces the level of perceived risk and
(iii) increases trust. Secondly, it has been found that to increase buying intention, two actions must be taken: (i)
to diminish perceived risk and (ii) to improve users’ pleasure attitudes towards the Website. Finally, usability has
been found to have a moderating role in all the relationships considered (reinforcing them)
User Perceptions of Smart Home IoT Privacy
Smart home Internet of Things (IoT) devices are rapidly increasing in
popularity, with more households including Internet-connected devices that
continuously monitor user activities. In this study, we conduct eleven
semi-structured interviews with smart home owners, investigating their reasons
for purchasing IoT devices, perceptions of smart home privacy risks, and
actions taken to protect their privacy from those external to the home who
create, manage, track, or regulate IoT devices and/or their data. We note
several recurring themes. First, users' desires for convenience and
connectedness dictate their privacy-related behaviors for dealing with external
entities, such as device manufacturers, Internet Service Providers,
governments, and advertisers. Second, user opinions about external entities
collecting smart home data depend on perceived benefit from these entities.
Third, users trust IoT device manufacturers to protect their privacy but do not
verify that these protections are in place. Fourth, users are unaware of
privacy risks from inference algorithms operating on data from non-audio/visual
devices. These findings motivate several recommendations for device designers,
researchers, and industry standards to better match device privacy features to
the expectations and preferences of smart home owners.Comment: 20 pages, 1 tabl
Evaluating the End-User Experience of Private Browsing Mode
Nowadays, all major web browsers have a private browsing mode. However, the
mode's benefits and limitations are not particularly understood. Through the
use of survey studies, prior work has found that most users are either unaware
of private browsing or do not use it. Further, those who do use private
browsing generally have misconceptions about what protection it provides.
However, prior work has not investigated \emph{why} users misunderstand the
benefits and limitations of private browsing. In this work, we do so by
designing and conducting a three-part study: (1) an analytical approach
combining cognitive walkthrough and heuristic evaluation to inspect the user
interface of private mode in different browsers; (2) a qualitative,
interview-based study to explore users' mental models of private browsing and
its security goals; (3) a participatory design study to investigate why
existing browser disclosures, the in-browser explanations of private browsing
mode, do not communicate the security goals of private browsing to users.
Participants critiqued the browser disclosures of three web browsers: Brave,
Firefox, and Google Chrome, and then designed new ones. We find that the user
interface of private mode in different web browsers violates several
well-established design guidelines and heuristics. Further, most participants
had incorrect mental models of private browsing, influencing their
understanding and usage of private mode. Additionally, we find that existing
browser disclosures are not only vague, but also misleading. None of the three
studied browser disclosures communicates or explains the primary security goal
of private browsing. Drawing from the results of our user study, we extract a
set of design recommendations that we encourage browser designers to validate,
in order to design more effective and informative browser disclosures related
to private mode
Security and Online learning: to protect or prohibit
The rapid development of online learning is opening up many new learning opportunities. Yet, with this increased potential come a myriad of risks. Usable security systems are essential as poor usability in security can result in excluding intended users while allowing sensitive data to be released to unacceptable recipients. This chapter presents findings concerned with usability for two security issues: authentication mechanisms and privacy. Usability issues such as memorability, feedback, guidance, context of use and concepts of information ownership are reviewed within various environments. This chapter also reviews the roots of these usability difficulties in the culture clash between the non-user-oriented perspective of security and the information exchange culture of the education domain. Finally an account is provided of how future systems can be developed which maintain security and yet are still usable
Modelling and testing consumer trust dimensions in e-commerce
Prior research has found trust to play a significant role in shaping purchase intentions of a consumer. However there has been limited research where consumer trust dimensions have been empirically defined and tested. In this paper we empirically test a path model such that Internet vendors would have adequate solutions to increase trust. The path model presented in this paper measures the three main dimensions of trust, i.e. competence, integrity, and benevolence. And assesses the influence of overall trust of consumers. The paper also analyses how various sources of trust, i.e. consumer characteristics, firm characteristic, website infrastructure and interactions with consumers, influence dimensions of trust. The model is tested using 365 valid responses. Findings suggest that consumers with high overall trust demonstrate a higher intention to purchase online
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