Designing improved privacy and security interfaces

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Usable privacy and security, that is the application of human-computer interaction (HCI) methods to privacy and security applications, is an important research area as user errors can be costly, such as when resulting in malware installation or unintentional disclosure of personal information. Technical security advances will not succeed if end users do not understand the security risks in their behaviours and how to configure the security tools designed to protect them. Furthermore, end user security has increasingly impacted organizational security as the security perimeter of organizations has had to expand to include mobile devices, which are often used by employees for personal as well as business purposes. In order to solve these problems, we must make significant advances in two key areas: first, we need to investigate further how end users perceive security and privacy risks and the mental models they have developed for how the various tools work together to protect them; and second, we have to use this knowledge to design and implement improved user interfaces that encourage the development of appropriate mental models and promote safe behaviours, in both personal and organizational contexts. My research program investigates two main themes in improving the usability of privacy and security interfaces. The first theme will focus on how to improve the usability of security tools such as personal firewalls, as well as more general tools such as web browsers that expose users to security and privacy risks on a daily basis. The second theme will investigate security and privacy concerns during collaboration (both personal and organizational). This research program will make contribution in the areas of usable privacy and security, interface design, end-user configuration management, and the management of information technologies.