Faiza Tazi

Internet of Things (IoT) devices provide convenience to users by simplifying household tasks. Most IoTs can be remotely controlled via mobile companion apps, which constitute the main interface between devices themselves and their users. Such apps are used to configure, update, and control the device(s) and thus constitute a critical component in the IoT ecosystem. However, they have historically been understudied which prompts us to look into them. In this paper, we report on a study where we evaluated a sample of 455 IoT companion apps and analyze their privacy, security, and accessibility aspects. Our research aim is to understand these metrics, gauge their state and evaluate whether there is a correlation between them. Our primary findings from the analysis are: (i) most apps have reasonable security and accessibility posture, but in several dimensions there exists a long tail of apps with significant problems and (ii) apps tend to over-request permissions which are not related to their main goal. Moreover, the quality of an app along one aspect is uncorrelated to the same along other aspects. We conclude with actionable recommendations for companion app developers.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth across healthcare systems, permanently transforming the way care is delivered. While telehealth has significantly enhanced healthcare accessibility, this transition has also introduced challenges in maintaining high standards of care. Furthermore, new technological challenges compounded by resource constraints have emerged. Allied healthcare providers, who often face resource limitations themselves, play a crucial role in delivering comprehensive care, including diagnostics, therapy, and support services. To delve deeper into these challenges, we conducted semi-structured online interviews, aiming to uncover the specific ergonomic obstacles that allied healthcare professionals, notably audiologists and speech-language pathologists face during telehealth consultations. By shedding light on their unique experiences, this work aims to pave the way for enhancements in telehealth ergonomics within the allied health sector, providing actionable recommendations that enhance telehealth ergonomics, thereby elevating the quality of remote healthcare services while addressing concerns from both practitioners’ and patients’ perspectives.

Dek : Multidisciplinary experts’ perspectives on how to strengthen protection of patients’ health information in telehealth designs and workflows.

The advent of telehealth revolutionizes healthcare by enabling remote consultations, yet poses complex security and privacy challenges. These are often acutely felt by lower-resourced, allied-healthcare practices. To address this, our study focuses on audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in private practice settings, often characterized by limited information technology resources. Over the course of six months, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten audiologists and ten SLPs to understand their telehealth experiences and concerns. Key findings reveal a diversity of opinions on technology trustworthiness, data security concerns, implemented security protocols, and patient behaviors. Given the nature of the medical practitioners’ primary work, participants expressed varied concerns about data breaches and platform vulnerabilities, yet trusted third-party services like Zoom due to inadequate expertise and time to evaluate security protocols. This work underscores the imperative of bridging the technology-healthcare gap to foster secure, patient/provider-centered telehealth as the prevailing practice. It also emphasizes the need to synergize security, privacy, and usability to securely deliver care through telehealth.

Interactions in healthcare, by necessity, involve sharing sensitive information to achieve high-quality patient outcomes. Therefore, sensitive data must be carefully protected. This article explores existing privacy and security research conducted in the context of healthcare organizations. We conducted a systematic literature review of N =1,553 articles that examine the security and privacy of healthcare data and focus on 80 articles addressing human factors. Key findings show that much of the healthcare security and privacy research is focused on technology (44.11%, 712 articles), with a lack of emphasis on the human element (4.96%, 80 articles). In the subset of user studies, we find that patients and the general public express concerns about privacy and security with technologies like electronic health records (EHRs). Furthermore, our analysis shows that healthcare professionals often have low awareness of risks related to data security. Additionally, our analysis revealed that most research focuses narrowly on large hospitals, neglecting private practices and the unique challenges they face. We conclude by identifying research gaps and providing potential solutions to enable robust data security for sensitive patient data.

In the context of resource-constrained environments, the provision of telehealth services for women must navigate the delicate balance between ensuring privacy and delivering timely healthcare. This study investigates the interplay of privacy and health within telehealth services for women in Mexico. We employed a naturalistic observation approach and conducted field studies in three healthcare facilities in Cancun and the surrounding regions of Mexico-one private and two public-to assess the impact of telehealth on healthcare practices. We also manually analyzed the in-house telehealth applications, identifying a critical need for more transparent and user-friendly privacy practices to protect user data and foster trust and safety, particularly concerning sensitive healthcare data for women. The analysis revealed a lack of personalized health content and limited access to remote consultations for women, especially in the areas of prenatal, postnatal care, and chronic disease management. Additionally, our study acknowledged the potential of telehealth to decrease travel time and costs for women seeking specialized medical care. This work highlights the current state of remote healthcare for women in Mexico and aims to contribute to the creation of more efficient, privacy-conscious, and patientcentric telehealth solutions.

COVID-19 has created a dramatic paradigm shift in education methods, which forced schools and universities to abandon the usual in-person education in favor of online education modules. Such a shift has extended the time and use of internet communication technologies (ICTs) by most, making online education platforms primary cyberattack targets. In this context, this study aims to explore parents, educators, and other caregivers' concerns about online education and the cybersecurity of their children and students. Thus, we conducted a survey-based study with 983 participants recruited through popular crowdsourcing platforms: MTurk and Prolific. Our results indicate a lack of technical support following cyber safety that the students received with the sudden transition to online education. Over 31% of our participants claimed that they never or rarely receive any communication related to cyber safety from the students' educational institutions. Additionally, our analysis shows that the student support structure needs to be trained and informed on the threats faced by children online and on the ways to mitigate these threats. Finally, we find a statistically significant difference between parents, educators, and other caregivers regarding their perceptions of children's online privacy and cyber safety. We conclude this work by providing actionable recommendations to promote privacy-preserving and digitally secure online education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly transformed the healthcare sector, with telehealth services being among the most prominent changes. The adoption of telehealth services, however, has raised new challenges, particularly in the areas of security and privacy. To better comprehend the telehealth needs and concerns of medical professionals, particularly those in private practice, we conducted a study comprised of 20 semi-structured interviews with telehealth practitioners in audiology and speech therapy. Our findings indicate that private telehealth practitioners encounter difficult choices when it comes to balancing security, privacy, usability, and accessibility, particularly while caring for vulnerable populations. Additionally, the study revealed that practitioners face challenges in ensuring HIPAA compliance due to inadequate resources and a lack of technological comprehension. Policymakers and healthcare providers should take proactive measures to address these challenges, including offering resources and training to ensure HIPAA compliance and enhancing technology infrastructure to support secure and accessible telehealth.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly transformed the healthcare sector, with telehealth services being among the most prominent changes. The adoption of telehealth services, however, has raised new challenges, particularly in the areas of security and privacy. To better comprehend the telehealth needs and concerns of medical professionals, particularly those in private practice, we conducted a study comprised of 20 semi-structured interviews with telehealth practitioners in audiology and speech therapy. Our findings indicate that private telehealth practitioners encounter difficult choices when it comes to balancing security, privacy, usability, and accessibility, particularly while caring for vulnerable populations. Additionally, the study revealed that practitioners face challenges in ensuring HIPAA compliance due to inadequate resources and a lack of technological comprehension. Policymakers and healthcare providers should take proactive measures to address these challenges, including offering resources and training to ensure HIPAA compliance and enhancing technology infrastructure to support secure and accessible telehealth.