Grant / August 2019

Evaluating Privacy and Security of Emerging Technologies for Older Adults

Abstract

In recent years, older adults have been increasingly involved in using technologies, including emerging devices, especially in the domain of healthcare, such as wearable and in-home health management, safety monitoring, fall detection, and emergency alert systems. These technologies aid in improving elderly people’s safety and health, and support independent living. But they collect vast amounts of potentially-sensitive information and are often connected to each other or to the Internet, and therefore pose serious privacy and security risks, to which older adults are particularly susceptible. We propose a research agenda aimed at developing recommendations for designing effective systems that will empower informed decisions, allow for better control over personal data, and improve security for elderly users. To achieve that, we will use structured interviews with developers of emerging healthcare technologies, usability experiments with older adults, and security threat assessment via network traffic analysis. This proposal builds directly on the findings of our past research funded by CLTC.

Research Findings and Presentations