WhatsApp & Yubico Research Presented at 2018 CEWiT Women’s Research Poster Competition


Security & Privacy in Informatics, Computing, and Engineering (SPICE) graduate researchers Jayati Dev and Sanchari Das presented their research at Indiana University’s Center of Excellence for Women in Technology (CEWiT) poster competition this year.  Alongside 81 other researchers, both Ph.D. students shared their research posters with fellow students, educators, and the public at IU’s Indiana Memorial Union.  The goal of the event is to both highlight the impressive research work that is being done on the IU campus by women in technology, as well as cross-pollinate ideas between researchers and research teams.

This year’s CEWiT contest was the fifth annual event.  It was held at the end of academic year and is the visible output of a much large scale support initiative.

The IU Center of Excellence for Women in Technology (CEWiT) is the nation’s first and only large-scale interdisciplinary, university-based initiative to encourage and promote the participation, empowerment, and achievement of women students, faculty, staff, and alumnae in technology. We reach across all fields, disciplines, and careers to educate and encourage women at IU to pursue skills and careers that will create 21st-century solutions for every sector of the economy.

By holding the annual CEWiT Summit, sponsoring student ambassador outreach, assisting with job shadowing and internships, CEWiT is an active center supporting and advocating for IU’s women student success.  The poster contest presents a moment where the research of these students can be seen and lauded.

Jayati Dev’s poster was on her work investigating WhatsApp security usage among Indian users as opposed to Saudi Arabian, United Kingdom, and American users investigated in previous studies. Using a large sample of 211 participants, Jayati Dev found that the majority of users think their data is being collected by WhatsApp and that the application’s Blocking Feature was the most widely used feature. Significant differences between populations were found, most notably the willingness to speak to strangers which was significantly higher for Indian women than for Saudi women. Specific recommendations were given for overall personal security as well as one that respect specific needs for different cultures.

Sanchari Das’s poster was on her research into why two factor authentication faces resistance in usage among users. In separate studies, student subjects were presented with Yubico security keys and observed during the process of setup and usage. The resulting data on pause and stopping points resulted in actionable recommendations that, when adopted, significantly improved the usage rate of the devices among users. Follow on studies with different user populations are planned for this summer.

Sanchari Das is not new to the CEWiT poster competition.  She was the winner of the First Place Outstanding Research Award at last year’s CEWiT poster competition for her research poster, How Celebrities Feed Tweeples with Personal and Promotional Tweets.

SPICE is a strong supporter of CEWiT’s mission as a part of its own  educational diversity.  Sponsors of this year’s Women in Cybersecurity (WiCYS 2018) as well as participants in Indiana Women in Computing (INWIC 2018), SPICE has dedicated itself to hiring, educating, and supporting students of diversity.

Winners of this year’s poster contest can be found at the CEWiT website.