Group

The Security, Privacy and Society group performs interdisciplinary research at the intersection of humans and technology, especially focusing on human-computer interaction and the human aspects of cybersecurity, safety and privacy.

The "Human-as-Solution" mindset: We develop human-centered solutions that consider humans as active contributors to success rather than only viewing them as risk factors. As such we aim to understand what enables and motivates humans to behave securely. Through applying a psychological lens, we iteratively tackle complex problems through first exploring human challenges related to perception, decison-making and behaviour. Based on that we develop human-centered solutions that complement rather than replace human expertise and competencies.

Beyond the Security Silo: Furthermore, we complement security- and privacy related research with insights from the related field of safety science to foster exchange and learning among related fields. This is especially crucial in today's interconnected in digitalized world in which safety and security aspects often interact with each other, such as when a security attack in a hospital endangers patient safety. 

Enhancing Applicability: To enhance the real-world applicability and societal impact of our work, we also conduct scientific research in partnership with security communities and industry partners. Through the development of scientific tools such as a survey for measuring cybersecurity behaviour we aim to provide organizations with scientific solutions for measuring human factors in cybersecurity and developing human-centered measures. 

Exemplary research areas comprise studying safety-security interrelations in critical infrastructures, augmenting cybersecurity professionals' expertise with AI tools or exploring what motivates and enables employees to report phishing emails.