During the summer of 2019, the Security and Privacy in Informatics, Computing, and Engineering (SPICE) center’sInternet of Things (IoT) Househosted three gifted incoming IU freshmen as part of the Groups Scholars STEM Summer Research Experience Program (SREP). After weeks of long days and hard work, these students presented the results of their efforts during the summer’s Research Symposium.
The SREP program gives promising incoming students accepted into the Groups Scholars program the opportunity to engage in a unique STEM research project before they even move in to their freshman dorms. Each student is matched with an IU research mentor to provide guidance and direction while they work on their project. Those paired with IoT House researchers used the center’s resources to explore technical and human centered issues regarding vulnerability and security with IoT devices.
As project manager, Joshua Streiff, explains:
“SPICE hosts several students each summer. This summer we had three students working on real world problems and getting a solid experience in the research process and in the subject matter of their projects.”
One student, Nathaly Reynaga, took advantage the center’s IoT printers and testing network to determine how vulnerable each of the devices would be to attacks and whether or not they presented a danger to its environment. Reynaga was able to hack each device by port scanning in order to pinpoint specific vulnerabilities in each of the printers and then exploit them. Based on the findings, Nathaly recommended that users consider mitigation strategies until manufacturers correct these security shortcomings in her poster, “The One Where Alice Trusted her Printer.”
Thandie Goins researched human response to Multi-Factor authentication (MFA) by compiling data from over 12,000 app store reviews and analyzing the aggregate result. Through sentiment analysis and Word Cloud, Goins identified positive and negative themes of user response and identified suggestions for improvement based on the grievances. Goins recommended MFA systems to offer updates to address user concerns in her final poster, “How Users Perceive Multi-Factor Authentication.”
Dominque Clark’s project, “The ‘You’ in Yubikey,”sought to better understand how users related to Two Factor Authentication (2FA) when using Yubico hardware. With the help of 35 research subjects recruited from threedifferent universities, Clark performed in-lab studies and multiple surveys to determine what user worries and concerns might be regarding authenticating with a physical token. After identifying key pain points and frustrations, Dominque recommended 2FA companies to include more detailed instructions and prioritize risk communication.
In addition to working diligently on their research projects, the SREP students had the opportunity to participate in fun events like “Discover IU” where students could explore all the activities they might want to engage in once they start their first semester in the fall. Students tried their hands at lock picking at the IoT House and had the chance to explore the makerspaces as well as the IU observatory. As Streiff remarks,
“We hope to show these students many of the opportunities that IU, SPICE, and the IoT House have to offer them not only to build their skills and confidence, but in the hopes of seeing them return to do future research.“
