Human-Centered Security and Privacy Course Overview
Security and privacy problems are societal challenges that cannot be solved solely through technology. The increasing security and privacy incidents, including phishing, identity thefts, and attacks on consumer smart devices, highlight the growing need to establish a continuous and in-depth understanding of the critical and undeniable role that users have in these situations. This course will introduce several security and privacy topics that have a strong human factors component.
Students will learn user research methods to effectively study people's security and privacy attitudes, concerns, and practices when they interact with technologies. Below are some of the themes that we will cover throughout this course:
- User Research Methods and Ethics
- Equity and Inclusivity in Security and Privacy
- Developing Security and Privacy Tools
- Security and Privacy Education and Awareness
- Human-Centered Security and Privacy in Emerging Technologies
This course is suitable both for students who are interested in security and privacy and would like to learn more about the role and importance of human factors and usability in cybersecurity, as well as those who are interested in usability and human-computer interaction (HCI) and are eager to know more about how fundamentals of HCI can be applied to improve people's security and privacy. Although there are no hard requirements, the course is most suitable for students who have some programming background (e.g., an undergraduate computer programming course).
This course includes weekly reading commentaries, in-class discussions, a midterm exam, and a final user-centered research project. The reading assignments are designed to introduce students to a variety of research topics in human-centered security and privacy and encourage them to critically examine usable security and privacy projects and ideas. For the final research project, students will work in small groups and deliver project status updates as well as a final report. Those who are interested will have a potential mentorship opportunity to extend their user research and publish a full paper or a poster at a top-tier venue in HCI (e.g., CHI, CSCW), privacy and security (e.g., USENIX Security, IEEE S&P), or usable privacy and security (e.g., SOUPS).