A method for incorporating usable security into computer security courses

Abstract

Since human factor security exploits are on the rise, ensuring Usable Security has become extremely important for the overall security of computer systems. However, traditional undergraduate computer security curriculum focuses heavily on technical aspects of security and generally ignores Usable Security. To address this problem, we developed a new 3P Learning Method that encourages students to view security problems from three different perspectives (i.e. 3P), namely: Defense, Offense, and Use. The 3P Method lets us incorporate Usable Security into the existing curriculum and helps students to consider Usable Security as an integral part of secure system design rather than an optional add-on.