CHI - When I am on Wi-Fi

"When I am on Wi-Fi, I am Fearless:" Privacy Concerns & practices in Everyday Wi-Fi Use
By Predrad Klasnja (Univ. of Washington), Sunny Consolvo, Jaeyeon Jung, Benjamin Greenstein, Louis LeGrand, Pauline Powledge, & David Wetherall (Intel Research Seattle)
Summary:
This articles discusses the increasing use of Wi-Fi, its security risks, and the common perception of how wireless networks work. The question then arises, to what extent do users understand the technology and/or its effect on privacy. An exploratory study was conducted to explore these issues.
Study
In 2008, 11 participants were chosen to join the study. All participants had beginning and ending interview sessions. Also, their internet and Wi-Fi use was monitored by software and observation over a 4 week period. In addition, A HTTP Analyzer was installed to monitor the matching of get request data and post logged user.
Results
The majority of participants logged into unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. Additionally, all participants understood how to connect to the wireless networks and that Wi-Fi signals extend beyond the physical location. However, only 3 participants had some knowledge about WEP and WPA security. Lastly, the greatest concern for all was the protection of their financial information. Thus, the article concludes that the participants only were truly concerned one they were given a list of the information they shared over the study period. The researchers recommend that security and education must be improved to aid the general public.
Discussion:
The study clearly demonstrates that the average Wi-Fi user does not have the proper knowledge to protect their identity and privacy. It is out responsibility as future computer engineers and scientists to understand this public need and address it in the building of future applications. As noted in the article, all of our efforts today to improve safety will unfortunately need years to fully impact the security for all users.