{"id":602,"date":"2019-05-23T10:57:40","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T09:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/business-and-society\/?p=602"},"modified":"2019-05-23T10:57:40","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T09:57:40","slug":"protect-your-privacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/business-and-society\/2019\/05\/23\/protect-your-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"The nudge you need to protect your privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

When was the last time you changed your computer password? Cyberattacks and privacy breaches are regularly in the news, but as individuals we often fail to take positive action to protect ourselves. In this piece, <\/em>Emily Collins<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Joanne Hinds<\/em><\/a> of the <\/em>University of Bath School of Management<\/em><\/a> describe their new project to prompt people into action. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Over the last five years the cost of cyberattacks is reported to have risen by 67%,<\/a> with the majority of these data breaches being traced back to human error. It is anticipated that 75% of UK companies<\/a> plan to address human factors in cyberattacks in the next three years in an attempt to mitigate this.<\/p>\n

Despite this, people routinely put off, ignore or forget cyber security measures such as changing passwords, updating privacy settings and locking computer screens. We suffer from \u201cprivacy fatigue\u201d, feeling exhausted and turned off by seemingly endless reports of data breaches in the news, and we\u2019ve become weary of installing software updates, updating privacy settings and changing passwords. Work-based training on cybersecurity is generally very conventional, often just delivered as a one-off when people join an organisation. It doesn\u2019t seem to galvanise people to act and is quickly forgotten.<\/p>\n

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Using technology to change behaviour<\/h4>\n

In recent years we\u2019ve seen how the technology used in exercise and fitness apps can successfully nudge people to make behavioural changes. We\u2019ve taken inspiration from this to investigate whether we could make a difference to people\u2019s behaviour using a simple device that plugs in to a PC and signals when action is needed.<\/p>\n

The project, entitled Encouraging cyber security behaviour through gentle interventions: Can ambient displays support users in making more secure decisions?<\/a>, will use Adafruit Circuit Playgrounds<\/a>, a small electronic piece of kit which can be programmed to display coloured lights in different configurations or patterns, vibrate or emit various sounds.<\/p>\n

The device can be connected to a variety of sensors that detect a person\u2019s movement. It will sit next to someone\u2019s computer and uses a sequence of these lights, sounds and vibrations to subtly nudge the user to lock their computer screen (if they forget to) as they leave their desk.<\/p>\n

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