Abstract:

Usable security is about exploring the relationship between the tools
which are supposed to keep people safe and the ways that people interact
with them. In this talk, I will be discussing two of my recent projects:
URL readability and reasons for avoiding software updates. URLs are a
nearly ubiquitous method of telling another person where to find
content. They are used extensively in emails, social networking and
other communications. The security community complains about people
clicking on fraudulent URLs, yet surprisingly little is known about how
people parse and interpret them. Similarly, software updates are
becoming a common feature of using a computing device, many of which
demand to be updated daily, if not hourly. Security experts agree that
installing updates is one of the best ways to stay safe, yet many people
avoid updating. I will discuss studies my lab has run on both of these
topics.

Speaker Bio:

Dr Kami Vaniea is a Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh studying
human factors of security and privacy. She heads the Technology
Usability Lab In Privacy and Security (TULIPS) which looks at many
different aspects of usability, prvaicy and security including
educational game design, internet of things, and software updating.
Previously Dr Vaniea was an Assistant Professor at Indiana University, a
post doc researcher at Michigan State University and completed her PhD
at Carnegie Mellon University.