On 22nd of January, we have invited Yixin Zou from the MPI-SP, research group leader of the Human-Centered Security and Privacy group, to talk about her research. She gave an exciting talk about inclusive privacy and security research involving at-risk users. Thank you, Yixin!
Abstract:
Despite the advancement of privacy and security research, existing tools and strategies are not equally
effective for everyone. Certain users at more “at risk” — being more likely to experience a digital attack, or
being disproportionately affected when harm from such an attack occurs. In this talk, I will give an overview of
inclusive privacy and security research involving at-risk users, drawing from my prior work on older adults and
survivors of intimate partner violence. As studies with individual user groups provide limited generalisability, I
will then share a recent work in which we augment findings across four at-risk user groups through large-scale
computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) in Germany. I end the talk by highlighting trauma-informed
computing and other frameworks as guidelines for creating safer technology experiences for all.
Bio:
Yixin Zou (she/her) is a tenure-track faculty member at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy
(MPI-SP), leading the human-centered security and privacy group. Her research interests span humancomputer
interaction, privacy, and security, focusing on improving consumers’ adoption of protective
behaviors and supporting the digital safety of at-risk populations. Her research has been recognized with the
2022 John Karat Usable Privacy and Security Student Research Award and best paper awards/honorable
mentions at the Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS) and the ACM Conference on Human
Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). In addition, her research has generated broader impacts on industry
practice (e.g., at Mozilla and NortonLifeLock) and public policy, including the rulemaking process for the
California Consumer Privacy Act. She holds a Ph.D. in Information from the University of Michigan and a
Bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.