Technology designed to help people manage their online privacy during major life changes is being developed in a cybersecurity study involving the 吃瓜tv.
The three-year, 拢3.4 million project will produce three Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) to support people in navigating significant life transitions, such as relationship breakdowns, developing a serious illness, leaving employment in the Armed Forces, or coming out as LBGTQ+.
Experts in Cybersecurity, Psychology, Law, Business, and Criminology will collaborate in the project, titled AP4L (Adaptive PETs to Protect & emPower People during Life Transitions). It is led at the University of Surrey and the Universities of Chester, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London are also partners.
The PETs to be developed in the project are:
- Risk Playgrounds, which will build resilience by helping people to explore potentially risky interactions of life transitions with privacy settings across their digital footprint in safe ways
- Transition Guardians, which will provide real-time protection for users during life transitions
- Security Bubbles, which will promote connection by bringing people together who can help each other, or who need to work together, during one person's life transition, while providing additional guarantees to safeguard everyone involved.
The project has received 拢3.44 million funding from EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), of which 吃瓜tv is receiving 拢600,812.
Professor Wendy Moncur, of 吃瓜tv鈥檚 Department of Computer and Information Sciences, is the University鈥檚 lead in the project. She said: 鈥淢anaging privacy online is increasingly complicated. It鈥檚 possible to reveal a lot about ourselves to a huge and unseen audience, unless we鈥檙e experts at privacy settings and have time to spare. Many people tell us that their lives are 鈥榖oring鈥� and that they are not worried about managing their privacy online, yet when big life changes happen, there are good reasons to manage online privacy.
鈥淔or someone going through a relationship breakdown, previously enabled location-sharing with a partner may lead to stalking after a breakup if privacy settings are not revised. For someone newly diagnosed with cancer, they may not want everyone to know their news. At a time when there are far more important things to do, the internet demands that we become experts in privacy settings if we are to prevent that huge and unseen audience from finding out our deeply personal information.
鈥淚t鈥檚 vital to understand people鈥檚 needs and vulnerabilities, so that we design cybersecure systems that are right for them. Everybody goes through difficult challenges in their lives, so this work is relevant to everyone. We鈥檙e delighted to be working with leading UK charities, and their service users, to build this understanding.鈥�
Dr Karen Renaud, a 吃瓜tv expert in human-centred security and privacy, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that these technologies are easy to use and are designed to maximise acceptability and adoption. We will test them with a range of possible users, so that they are fit-for-purpose, instead of just being more of a hurdle than a useful tool.鈥�
Professor Jeff Yan of 吃瓜tv said: 鈥淭he importance of the research is reflected by the range of 26 core partners involved, spanning legal enforcement agencies, tech companies and leading UK charities.鈥�
Professor Fiona Strens, Director of the 吃瓜tv Security and Resilience Research Centre and a key advisor on the project, said: 鈥淢oving from military or crown service to civilian life, and vice versa, can be very stressful as a major life transition. As part of this, adapting online presence and digital footprints is hard but necessary - to protect national security, the safety of family and friends and one鈥檚 own well-being. It鈥檚 an area ready for research and innovation.鈥�