Usability

In order to establish a secure communication channel, each communicating party needs some method to authenticate the other, lest it unwittingly establish a channel with the adversary instead. Current techniques for authentication often rely on passwords and/or the public-key infrastructure (PKI). Both of these methods have considerable drawbacks since passwords are frequently breached, and PKI relies on central authorities which have proven to be less than reliable. Thus there is a need to use other sources of information for the communicating parties to authenticate each other.

The World Wide Web and computer "clouds" have become widely used, and are interwoven into many activities of daily life, from shopping to socializing to education. But the data center servers that are the backbone of this richly connected world remain vulnerable to malicious software ("malware"). Over the past decade, attacks have increased in number and sophistication, motivated by both financial and political goals. The results include consumer concerns about identify theft and fraudulent charges, corporate concerns about millions of dollars in losses, and potential defense concerns.

Advances in digital communication technologies, and their proliferation in recent decades, have had a remarkable impact on journalism. Security weaknesses in these technologies have put journalists and their sources increasingly at risk, hindering efforts at investigative reporting, transparency, and whistleblowing. Because of their willingness to be early adopters, and to openly communicate their issues, journalists provide an opportunity to identify security issues and requirements in new communication methods.

Millions of people in the U.S. and worldwide apply for jobs online, and the use of online job application systems is growing. Thus, online job applicants are an important population to study. However, few studies have examined job applicants' concerns about their privacy and how to protect it. Further, job applicants' privacy concerns may affect how willing they are to apply for jobs and even whether job applicants pursue legal action against employers for privacy violations.

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