From virtual bliss to virtual betrayal:the growing threat of romance fraud in VR spaces

Romance fraud is a pervasive form of social engineering that has gained momentum in recent years. Fraudsters create fictitious personas on dating platforms to lure unsuspecting individuals into a relationship to defraud them. The impact of such fraud can be devastating, causing not only monetary loss but also emotional distress for those seeking companionship. As technology advances, new challenges emerge, with the rise of VR, XR, and the Metaverse posing additional risks. This talk explores the phenomenon of romance fraud, its impact on victims, and how emerging technologies present new challenges for online dating

How to design browser security and privacy alerts

Browser security and privacy alerts must be designed to ensure they are of value to the end-user, and communicate risks efficiently. We performed a systematic literature review, producing a list of guidelines from the research. Papers were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively to formulate a comprehensive set of guidelines. Our findings seek to provide developers and designers with guidance as to how to construct security and privacy alerts. We conclude by providing an alert template, highlighting its adherence to the derived guidelines

How to make privacy policies both GDPR-compliant and usable

It is important for organisations to ensure that their privacy policies are General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant, and this has to be done by the May 2018 deadline. However, it is also important for these policies to be designed with the needs of the human recipient in mind. We carried out an investigation to find out how best to achieve this.We commenced by synthesising the GDPR requirements into a checklist-type format. We then derived a list of usability design guidelines for privacy notifications from the research literature. We augmented the recommendations with other findings reported in the research literature, in order to confirm the guidelines. We conclude by providing a usable and GDPR-compliant privacy policy template for the benefit of policy writers

Gaming for all:the importance of accessibility in video games

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the role of video games as a method ofsupporting mental health and reducing social isolation. However, not everyone has equalaccess to gaming, particularly those with accessibility issues. This talk emphasises theimportance of accessibility in games and explores how the games industry can worktogether to create accessible gaming experiences. By prioritising accessibility, it is possibleto create a more inclusive gaming community

Security awareness and affective feedback:categorical behaviour vs. reported behaviour

A lack of awareness surrounding secure online behaviour can lead to end-users, and their personal details becoming vulnerable to compromise. This paper describes an ongoing research project in the field of usable security, examining the relationship between end-user-security behaviour, and the use of affective feedback to educate end-users. Part of the aforementioned research project considers the link between categorical information users reveal about themselves online, and the information users believe, or report that they have revealed online. The experimental results confirm a disparity between information revealed, and what users think they have revealed, highlighting a deficit in security awareness. Results gained in relation to the affective feedback delivered are mixed, indicating limited short-term impact. Future work seeks to perform a long-term study, with the view that positive behavioural changes may be reflected in the results as end-users become more knowledgeable about security awareness

From virtual bliss to virtual betrayal:the growing threat of romance fraud in VR spaces

Romance fraud is a pervasive form of social engineering that has gained momentum in recent years. Fraudsters create fictitious personas on dating platforms to lure unsuspecting individuals into a relationship to defraud them. The impact of such fraud can be devastating, causing not only monetary loss but also emotional distress for those seeking companionship. As technology advances, new challenges emerge, with the rise of VR, XR, and the Metaverse posing additional risks. This talk explores the phenomenon of romance fraud, its impact on victims, and how emerging technologies present new challenges for online dating

Gaming for all:the importance of accessibility in video games

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the role of video games as a method ofsupporting mental health and reducing social isolation. However, not everyone has equalaccess to gaming, particularly those with accessibility issues. This talk emphasises theimportance of accessibility in games and explores how the games industry can worktogether to create accessible gaming experiences. By prioritising accessibility, it is possibleto create a more inclusive gaming community