Dec 12

Computer Science Seminar: Lucy Simko (George Washington University)

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Milstein 402 or via Zoom
  • Add to Calendar 2023-12-12 11:00:00 2023-12-12 12:00:00 Computer Science Seminar: Lucy Simko (George Washington University) Speaker: Lucy Simko (George Washington University) Title: Computer Security and Privacy for Marginalized Populations The seminar will be available for in-person and Zoom participation. Registration for Zoom will be available soon. Computer security and privacy is critical for vulnerable and marginalized populations because they can face more determined adversaries or higher consequences for security and privacy issues. At a high level, I work to explore why people are vulnerable--through technical misdesign and societal systems. In this talk, I explore one reason: geopolitical change. First, I will explore how refugees in the US encounter challenges and barriers with authentication because of ill-fitted technology. Next, I will discuss the design and integration of biometric voter verification technologies into the 2019 Afghanistan election, finding a variety of design misalignments. Through these papers and others, I show the importance and difficulty of designing for users' social, political, environmental, and technical contexts. Lucy Simko is a postdoctoral researcher at the George Washington University in the GW Usable Security lab. Her work focuses on the security and privacy-related needs, practices, and experiences of under-served populations. Her research has been published at IEEE Security & Privacy, CCS, PETS, CHI, CSCW, and IDC. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the co-recipient of a Safe and Trustworthy Cybersecurity grant (SaTC). Simko earned her PhD in Computer Science and Engineering in 2022 from the University of Washington. Milstein 402 or via Zoom Barnard College barnard-admin@digitalpulp.com America/New_York public

Speaker: Lucy Simko (George Washington University)
Title: Computer Security and Privacy for Marginalized Populations

The seminar will be available for in-person and Zoom participation. Registration for Zoom will be available soon.

Computer security and privacy is critical for vulnerable and marginalized populations because they can face more determined adversaries or higher consequences for security and privacy issues. At a high level, I work to explore why people are vulnerable--through technical misdesign and societal systems. In this talk, I explore one reason: geopolitical change. First, I will explore how refugees in the US encounter challenges and barriers with authentication because of ill-fitted technology. Next, I will discuss the design and integration of biometric voter verification technologies into the 2019 Afghanistan election, finding a variety of design misalignments. Through these papers and others, I show the importance and difficulty of designing for users' social, political, environmental, and technical contexts.


Lucy Simko is a postdoctoral researcher at the George Washington University in the GW Usable Security lab. Her work focuses on the security and privacy-related needs, practices, and experiences of under-served populations. Her research has been published at IEEE Security & Privacy, CCS, PETS, CHI, CSCW, and IDC. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the co-recipient of a Safe and Trustworthy Cybersecurity grant (SaTC). Simko earned her PhD in Computer Science and Engineering in 2022 from the University of Washington.