Usable Security and Privacy Lab
Our lab focuses on helping people protect their security and privacy online. We conduct human-focused research and develop human-focused secure and private systems.
Current projects include:
Understanding how mental models and threat models vary across different authentication contexts
Comparing FIDO2 security keys and Passkeys to passwords
Identifying the threat modeling process that researchers use when studying the needs of a population
We are currently recruiting experts who study threats to people in usable security and privacy.
October 2023: James presented and passed his dissertation proposal, How do we replace the king?! An exploration of Cryptographic Password Replacements. We’re very excited for him to continue in this area of research.
September 2023: We have hired six undergraduates this fall. Alyssa, Rhoderic, and Lylah will be building content for our video wall that explains the importance of cryptography. Alexander, Victoria, Andrea, and David are working on apps that demonstrate passwordless login.
August 2023: Warda presented her paper on motivations for adopting secure email at SOUPS 2023. You can click through to see her talk and read her paper.
Our lab has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, Air Force Research Lab, Google, and the BYU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
Contact Daniel Zappala for research opportunities in the lab.
Visit us at 3326 TMCB.