How Does Usable Security (Not) End Up in Software Products? Results From a Qualitative Interview Study

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingConference contributionResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Marco Gutfleisch
  • Jan H. Klemmer
  • Niklas Busch
  • Yasemin Acar
  • M. Angela Sasse
  • Sascha Fahl

External Research Organisations

  • Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security
  • Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy
View graph of relations

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings
Subtitle of host publication43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages893-910
Number of pages18
ISBN (electronic)9781665413169
ISBN (print)978-1-6654-1317-6
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Event43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022 - San Francisco, United States
Duration: 23 May 202226 May 2022

Publication series

NameProceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy
Volume2022-May
ISSN (Print)1081-6011
ISSN (electronic)2375-1207

Abstract

For software to be secure in practice, users need to be willing and able to appropriately use security features. These features are usually implemented by software professionals during the software development process (SDP), who may be unable to consider the usability of these mechanisms. While research has made progress in supporting developers in creating secure software products, very little attention has been paid to whether and how these security features are made usable. In a semi-structured interview study with 25 software professionals (software developers, designers, architects), we explored how they and other decision-makers encounter and deal with security and usability during the software development process in their companies. Based on 37 hours of interview recordings, we qualitatively analyzed and investigated 23 distinct development contexts in detail. In addition to individual awareness and factors that directly influence the implementation phase, we identify a high impact of contextual factors, such as stakeholder pressure, presence of expertise, and collaboration culture, and the specific implementation of the SDP on usable security in software products. We conclude our work by highlighting important gaps, such as studying and improving contextual factors that contribute to usable security and discussing potential improvements of the status quo.

Keywords

    usable-security,-usability,-security,-software-development-process,-software-engineering,-interview-study

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

How Does Usable Security (Not) End Up in Software Products? Results From a Qualitative Interview Study. / Gutfleisch, Marco; Klemmer, Jan H.; Busch, Niklas et al.
Proceedings: 43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2022. p. 893-910 (Proceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy; Vol. 2022-May).

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingConference contributionResearchpeer review

Gutfleisch, M, Klemmer, JH, Busch, N, Acar, Y, Sasse, MA & Fahl, S 2022, How Does Usable Security (Not) End Up in Software Products? Results From a Qualitative Interview Study. in Proceedings: 43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022. Proceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, vol. 2022-May, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 893-910, 43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022, San Francisco, United States, 23 May 2022. https://doi.org/10.1109/SP46214.2022.9833756
Gutfleisch, M., Klemmer, J. H., Busch, N., Acar, Y., Sasse, M. A., & Fahl, S. (2022). How Does Usable Security (Not) End Up in Software Products? Results From a Qualitative Interview Study. In Proceedings: 43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022 (pp. 893-910). (Proceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy; Vol. 2022-May). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/SP46214.2022.9833756
Gutfleisch M, Klemmer JH, Busch N, Acar Y, Sasse MA, Fahl S. How Does Usable Security (Not) End Up in Software Products? Results From a Qualitative Interview Study. In Proceedings: 43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2022. p. 893-910. (Proceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy). doi: 10.1109/SP46214.2022.9833756
Gutfleisch, Marco ; Klemmer, Jan H. ; Busch, Niklas et al. / How Does Usable Security (Not) End Up in Software Products? Results From a Qualitative Interview Study. Proceedings: 43rd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2022. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2022. pp. 893-910 (Proceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy).
Download
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abstract = "For software to be secure in practice, users need to be willing and able to appropriately use security features. These features are usually implemented by software professionals during the software development process (SDP), who may be unable to consider the usability of these mechanisms. While research has made progress in supporting developers in creating secure software products, very little attention has been paid to whether and how these security features are made usable. In a semi-structured interview study with 25 software professionals (software developers, designers, architects), we explored how they and other decision-makers encounter and deal with security and usability during the software development process in their companies. Based on 37 hours of interview recordings, we qualitatively analyzed and investigated 23 distinct development contexts in detail. In addition to individual awareness and factors that directly influence the implementation phase, we identify a high impact of contextual factors, such as stakeholder pressure, presence of expertise, and collaboration culture, and the specific implementation of the SDP on usable security in software products. We conclude our work by highlighting important gaps, such as studying and improving contextual factors that contribute to usable security and discussing potential improvements of the status quo.",
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