TY - GEN
T1 - Identity inference as a privacy risk in computer-mediated communication
AU - Motahari, Sara
AU - Ziavras, Sotirios
AU - Schuler, Richard P.
AU - Jones, Quentin
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - New Web 2.0 applications, with their emphasis on collaboration and communication, hold the promise of major advances in social connectivity and coordination; however, they also increase the threats to user privacy. An important, yet under-researched privacy risk results from social inferences about user identity, location, and activities. In this paper, we frame the 'social inference problem'. We then present the results from a 292 subject experiment that highlights: 1) the prevalence of social inference risks; 2) people's difficulties in accurately predicting social inference risks; and 3) the relation between information entropy and social inference. We also show how to predict possible social inferences by modeling users' background knowledge and calculating information entropy and discuss how social inference support systems can be deployed that protect user privacy.
AB - New Web 2.0 applications, with their emphasis on collaboration and communication, hold the promise of major advances in social connectivity and coordination; however, they also increase the threats to user privacy. An important, yet under-researched privacy risk results from social inferences about user identity, location, and activities. In this paper, we frame the 'social inference problem'. We then present the results from a 292 subject experiment that highlights: 1) the prevalence of social inference risks; 2) people's difficulties in accurately predicting social inference risks; and 3) the relation between information entropy and social inference. We also show how to predict possible social inferences by modeling users' background knowledge and calculating information entropy and discuss how social inference support systems can be deployed that protect user privacy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650760824&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78650760824&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/HICSS.2009.243
DO - 10.1109/HICSS.2009.243
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:78650760824
SN - 9780769534503
T3 - Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS
BT - Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS
T2 - 42nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS
Y2 - 5 January 2009 through 9 January 2009
ER -