Michelle Mazurek

150 Followers
51 Following
63 Posts

human-centered security/privacy/etc. at UMD MC2.

she/her; #BLM

Apply to attend GREPSEC VI! USENIX is hosting the sixth GREPSEC workshop on August 8, 2023 in Anaheim, CA, co-located with USENIX Security '23 and SOUPS 2023. Applications are due May 24: https://bit.ly/grepsecvi

GREPSEC is a workshop for PhD students in computer security and privacy, focusing on underrepresented populations, including women, non-binary, and gender minorities, Black, Hispanic/Latino/Latina, Native American and Indigenous students, and LGBTQ+ students.

GREPSEC VI

USENIX
I’m excited to share some new research that was just published in Big Data & Society). We use factorial vignettes to understand the contextual factors that shape attitudes toward research uses of data on 3 platforms: Instagram (image-based), Reddit (pseudonymous communities), and dating apps (sensitive data). Quick thread (read the paper here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20539517231164108
@mmazurek more seriously, I think these practices are incredibly dangerous on several levels: we waste budget (both cash and time), we waste credibility, and having done both, security staff can't get to useful work.
@adamshostack strong agree. Our CIO is even a CS professor, and I've talked to him about related issues a number of times. Incredibly frustrating.
@mmazurek I think you forgot the phrase "wrong answers only" :)
I will not agree that "writing your passphrase down on paper is unsafe" even to pass your silly quiz.

Saving the absolute worst for last on the UMD security training, on passwords/phrases:
* Substitute 3 for E and R for "are"
* Never write down your passphrase, never store it in your browser
* Use a familiar phrase, perhaps a line from your favorite song.

What are we even doing here?

Computer Science Alum Kyle Orland Authors New Book About the Puzzling Origins of Minesweeper

Kyle Orland (B.S. ’04, computer science; B.A. ’04, journalism) played the computer game Minesweeper anywhere he could find a personal computer as a kid in the ’90s: the computer nook in his middle school’s library, the home office of a friend’s parents and even the computer section of his local Circuit City while his mom shopped.The deceptively simple Microsoft game, which challenges players to click cells without detonating hidden mines, came pre-installed on more than 4 billion personal computers sold between 1992 and 2012.

Every time you feel the urge to give advice to people who may become pregnant or who wish to end their pregnancies that involves becoming a super-spy in order to avoid leaving any evidence, please consider shutting up and giving money to your local abortion fund instead.
"Always change the default password that came with your router" seems like great advice for, perhaps, 2012? Do any routers come with unrandomized "default" passwords anymore?