Carnegie Mellon University
PhD Student
Hana is a PhD student in the Societal Computing program at Carnegie Mellon University, advised by Lorrie Faith Cranor. Her research interests span many areas of security and privacy, and include understanding user behavior and preferences in relation to privacy and security and developing effective privacy choice mechanisms for online consumers. Hana was awarded the CyLab Presidential Fellowship in 2017 and 2019, and her work received a Best Paper Honorable Mention award at CHI’19. Prior to starting her PhD, she completed a Bachelors in Computer Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering from Cornell University and a Masters in Information Technology – Information Security from Carnegie Mellon University. Hana also worked as a software engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Research Abstract:
On an average day, people are confronted with dozens of choices related to the privacy and security of their data. While it is imperative that users are provided these controls, companies must ensure that end-users can actually use them effectively and understand the risks that they address. In my research I integrate qualitative methods from human-computer interaction with quantitative techniques and risk analysis approaches used in privacy and security. My work explores the usability of data control and consent mechanisms, such as those for data deletion and opt-outs for email marketing and targeted advertising. Though these mechanisms are common, significant usability barriers, such as inconsistent placement of these privacy choices, are prevalent. A contributing factor to this variance is that no validated set of best practices for offering usable mechanisms currently exists. My research addresses the open question of what constitutes a usable choice experience.