Communication Privacy Research Articles

Gen Z’s Oversharing on Instagram Stories

Oversharing was initially used to explain the condition where someone excessively discloses more private information about themselves to the general public, both online and offline. Oversharing on social media by adolescents is a significant problem in the digital age. However, Gen Z is closer to this phenomenon because their lives must be connected to the existence of social media as a platform to introduce themselves to the public. Therefore, Gen Z must manage the boundaries between private and public information. This qualitative study uses a descriptive approach, using Sandra Petronio's Communication Privacy Management Theory. The research informants were Gen Z, aged 18-24, who live in Sidoarjo and Surabaya. This study found that Gen Z's oversharing behavior in Instagram Stories can be associated with uploading repetitive or repetitive content. Oversharing activities on Instagram Stories also create conditions where Gen Z is more willing to share the luxury and wealth they possess. Oversharing can also be part of personal branding and labeling for Gen Z. Oversharing not only impacts the person sharing it, but this activity can also have consequences for the audience, such as embarrassment, disturbance, and disappointment. This research shows how Gen Z could overshare on Instagram Stories and how they manage their personal life according to CPM theory.

Stealthy Messaging: Leveraging Message Queuing Telemetry Transport for Covert Communication Channels

Covert channel methods are techniques for improving privacy and security in network communications. These methods consist of embedding secret data within normal network channels, making it more difficult for unauthorized parties to detect such data. This paper presents a new approach for creating covert channels using the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol, widely used in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT). The proposed method exploits storage channels by altering the field length of MQTT messages. Our solution leverages well-known one-way mathematical functions to ensure that data remain hidden from third parties observing the MQTT stream. In this way, we ensure that not only the content of the communication is preserved but also that the communication itself takes place. We conducted a security analysis to show that our solution offers the above-mentioned property even against severe threats, such as an adversary being able to observe all the messages exchanged in the network (even in the clear). Finally, we conducted an overhead analysis of our solution both in terms of the time required to perform the required operations and of the bytes to send. Our study shows that our solution adds no significant time overhead, and the additional overhead in terms of transmitted bytes remains within acceptable limits.

An Enhanced RSA Algorithm to Counter Repetitive Ciphertext Threats Empowering User-centric Security

The technology-driven modern age emphasizes the security and privacy of communication. Through this paper, we delve deep into the need for user-centric security within cloud-based environments. The need for enhancement in encryption arises due to the increasing cases of data breaches and insider threats in cloud-based environments recently. The focus is laid upon the use of RSA encryption, end-to-end encryption, and anonymous messaging to address security-based concerns. The primary focus of this research is to develop a comprehensive security system to ensure the confidentiality and authenticity of text-based messages shared in the cloud. The proposed improved RSA algorithm, as suggested, incorporates three prime numbers in the key generation process. To address repetitive ciphertext, the proposed algorithm involves adding the index of each character in the plaintext string to the character’s integer value before encryption. Conversely, during decryption, the same index is subtracted. This proposed algorithm has been utilized in a practical scenario, specifically in the implementation of a chat application. This paper presents a proof-of-concept for the proposed enhanced version of the RSA algorithm, accompanied by a thorough comparison and analysis of computational times across various bit lengths. Increase in data security at a cost of minor increase in computation time was observed through this research.

Physical unclonable functions and QKD-based authentication scheme for IoT devices using blockchain

As the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is increasing exponentially, strong security measures are needed to guard against different types of cyberattacks. This research offers a novel IoT device authentication technique to mitigate these challenges by integrating three cutting-edge technologies namely blockchain technology, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), and Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs). By utilizing the distinctive qualities of PUFs for device identification and the unrivaled security of QKD for key exchange, the proposed approach seeks to address the significant security issues present in IoT environments. Adopting blockchain technology ensures transparency and verifiability of the authentication process across distributed IoT networks by adding an unchangeable, decentralized layer of trust. An examination of the computing and communication costs reveals that the proposed protocol is effective, necessitating low computational resources that are critical for IoT devices with limited resources. The protocol’s resistance against a variety of attacks is demonstrated by formal proofs based on the Real-Or-Random (ROR) model and security evaluations using the Scyther tool, ensuring the integrity and secrecy of communications. Various threats are analyzed, and the protocol is proven to be secure and efficient from all forms of attacks.

“I’m Spoon-Feeding Him My Trauma”: An Analysis of Sexual Assault Survivors’ Ongoing Privacy Management in Romantic Relationships

ABSTRACT For survivors of sexual assault, navigating privacy boundaries can be challenging. Communication privacy management theory posits privacy and disclosure as a dialectical tension. As boundaries are negotiated, breached, and renegotiated, people are faced with examining the roles ownership, control, and turbulence play when regulating their private information, particularly around the highly sensitive topic of sexual assault in a romantic relationship where the relational risk is high. Through qualitative, semi-structured interviews (n = 21) and a phronetic iterative approach to data analysis, we examined the ongoing privacy management of survivors of sexual assault in romantic relationships. The results of this study offer insight into the ways participants controlled their personal information through the privacy management process and the effects of incongruent privacy management on participants, their partners, and the relationship.

A Network Performance Analysis of MQTT Security Protocols with Constrained Hardware in the Dark Net for DMS

In the context of the internet of things, and particularly within distributed measurement systems that are subject to high privacy risks, it is essential to emphasize the need for increasingly effective privacy protections. The idea presented in this work involves managing critical traffic through an architectural proposal aimed at solving the problem of communications between nodes by optimizing both the confidentiality to be guaranteed to the payload and the transmission speed. Specifically, data such as a typical sensor on/off signal could be sent via a standard encrypted channel, while a sensitive aggregate could be transmitted through a dedicated private channel. Additionally, this work emphasizes the critical importance of optimizing message sizes to 5 k-bytes (small payload messages) for transmission over the reserve channel, enhancing both privacy and system responsiveness, a mandatory requirement in distributed measurement systems. By focusing on small, encrypted payloads, the study facilitates secure, timely updates and summaries of network conditions, maintaining the integrity and privacy of communications in even the most challenging and privacy-sensitive environments. This study provides a comprehensive performance analysis of IoT networks using Dark Net technologies and MQTT protocols, with a focus on privacy and anonymity. It highlights the trade-offs between enhanced security and performance, noting increased latency, reduced bandwidth, and network instability when using TOR, particularly with cipher suites like AES256-GCM-SHA384 and DHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305. The research emphasizes the need for further exploration of alternative protocols like LWM2M in secure IoT environments and calls for optimization to balance privacy with performance in Dark-Net-based IoT deployments.

General vs. specific: How location information control drives performance in peer-to-peer accommodation

Unlike traditional hotels that explicitly specify their geographical locations, hosts on peer-to-peer accommodation platforms can partially conceal their properties' location information, showcasing only a general area in public searches for potential guests. However, the impact of this information control has been underexplored. Drawing upon the communication privacy management theory and leveraging a unique Airbnb panel dataset from multiple sources, this study investigates the effect of partial location information concealment on property sales performance. Findings show that partially concealing location information leads to an 18.4% increase in occupancy rates compared to disclosing specific location details. Additionally, the effect of location concealment is contingent upon co-owner responsibility boundaries (i.e., host identity verification, guest screening), as well as environmental density boundaries (i.e., population density, listing density). Furthermore, a scenario-based experiment confirms the main effect, and reveals that guests’ sense of control and perceived risks serve as the underlying mechanisms driving this direct effect.

State Sponsored Cyber Surveillance: The Right to Privacy of Communications and International Law by Eliza Watt [Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham/Northampton, MA, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-789-90009-5, 384pp, £120.00 (h/bk)

State Sponsored Cyber Surveillance: The Right to Privacy of Communications and International Law by Eliza Watt [Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham/Northampton, MA, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-789-90009-5, 384pp, £120.00 (h/bk)

Exploring the Impact of Social Robot Design Characteristics on Users’ Privacy Concerns: Evidence from PLS-SEM and FsQCA

Although an increasing number of studies explore the factors influencing users’ privacy concerns regarding social robots, the existing understanding of this issue remains largely fragmented. Previous studies have mainly focused on the "net effect" between variables, leaving the complexity of causal configurations, and the holistic impact of design characteristics of social robots on user privacy concerns remains unclear. Based on the Stimuli-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework and Communication Privacy Management Theory (CPMT), this study integrates social robot design characteristics such as Anthropomorphism, Warmth, Competence, and Transparency into causal configurations, and uses Perceived Privacy Risk and Perceived Privacy Control as mediating variables to propose a Comprehensive conceptual model. Based on valid data from a sample of 198 Chinese social robot users, this study conducted empirical analyses of the conceptual model using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FsQCA). PLS-SEM results show that anthropomorphism, warmth, competence, and transparency are key factors influencing privacy concerns, and perceived privacy risk mediates the relationship between warmth, information transparency, and privacy concerns. The FsQCA results further validated the findings of PLS-SEM and identified five configurations of factor combinations that led to higher levels of user privacy concerns. Among them, the combination of high anthropomorphism design, high competence, and low warmth of social robots is the core configuration that leads to users’ privacy concerns. Overall, this study broadens our understanding of social robot users’ privacy concerns and reveals the causal complexity behind social robot users’ privacy concerns. It provides some theoretical and practical insights for subsequent scholars and designers.

Contextual Factors Influencing Online Support Providers’ Motivations and Message Provision

This study examined how contextual factors influence support providers’ motivations and message provision. Participants (N = 602) provided supportive messages in response to support-seeking posts sent either publicly or privately through either Facebook or an online support group. Findings revealed that providers’ motivations and message provision varied as a function of the channel and privacy of communication. Moderated mediation analyses showed that privacy moderated the indirect effect of channel on verbal person-centered message provision through approach motivation. This project advances extant understanding regarding direct and indirect effects of contextual factors and motivations on the quality of supportive messages people produce.

Protecting Private Communications through Law and Policy: The Case of the Screenshot Feature

Individuals rely on digital communication platforms to express the most intimate details of their lives with others. The screenshot feature threatens the ability to do this with confidence, authorizing nonconsensual information collection and sharing by interpersonal actors. In some instances, the harms enabled by the screenshot feature have incited legal action. This study analyzes how judges and policymakers have conceptualized and regulated screenshot collection and the sharing of private communications. Analysis of case law and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rulemakings reveal inconsistencies both within law and policy and as compared to evidence from social-media users. Judges have provided broad definitions of “authorization” and lofty thresholds to sustain individual harm, making statutory regulation of screenshot collection and sharing unlikely. However, guidance from the FTC has demonstrated a nuanced approach to privacy that recognizes the significance of platform design. Results suggest that design-based strategies—both ex ante and ex post—would be a promising step toward adjusting the norms around screenshot collection and sharing of digital messages.

“I felt like it was the right thing to do”: How college students’ decisions to disclose COVID-19 diagnoses reflect privacy preferences, perceptions of stigma, and cultural norms

Background: COVID-19 diagnoses can be difficult to share, as COVID-19 faces ongoing stigmatization. Aim: Framed by communication privacy management theory, this study examines how college students make decisions to disclose their COVID-19-positive statuses (or why they may not), and how those decisions are affected by perceptions of stigma and cultural norms. Methods: This study utilizes a qualitative, interview-based methodology with twenty undergraduate student participants. Results: Responses are analyzed for themes relating to communication privacy management, noting information control and co-ownership, boundary coordination, and forced/required disclosures. Responses demonstrate that a stigmatized view of COVID-19 has largely subsided, but still affects disclosure preferences and decisions. In addition, several cultural factors also shape beliefs about disclosure practices. Discussion: These findings illuminate how perceptions of COVID-19’s stigma and cultural norms shape college students’ notions of privacy, information control, co-ownership, and ultimately disclosure practices. Highlighting implications for how best to respond to future pandemics, the data presented herein provides an exploration of the relationship between privacy strategies, stigmatization beliefs, and cultural norms. Conclusion: This information will be useful in generating institutional, education, and public health responses to future pandemics, as findings suggest an under-theorized relationship between the areas of privacy management, stigmatization, and cultural norms.

Authenticated multi-party quantum key agreement protocol based on cluster states

Quantum key agreement (QKA) is an important cryptographic primitive that plays a pivotal role in private communications. Authenticated QKA plays an important role in QKA. In this paper, we propose an authenticated multiparty QKA scheme based on 4-qubit cluster states entanglement swapping. The scheme is divided into two parts, the first part is the quantum identity authentication stage, and the second part is the QKA stage. In the quantum identity authentication stage, the participants determine that the participant communicating with them is the claimed person through mutual authentication, which can avoid the impersonation attack of the eavesdropper Eve. In the QKA phase, the participants adopt a bidirectional transmission structure with the participation of a semi-trusted third party, and based on the entanglement swapping property of the 4-qubit cluster state, the QKA is finally realized. Detailed security analysis shows that the protocol can resist a variety of internal and external attacks, such as participants attack, entangle-measure attack, and so on.

The threat of electronic performance monitoring: Exploring the role of leader-member exchange on employee privacy invasion

Advances in digitalization have led employers to increasingly adopt electronic performance monitoring technologies that allow supervisors to observe, analyze and evaluate not only employees' work activities, but also their cognitive and behavioral data. This has significant implications for employees' perceptions of privacy, and, in turn, for their basic needs, intrinsic motivation, and turnover intentions. However, the extent of perceiving privacy invasion may also depend on the relationship with those individuals for whom information is shared. This relationship should play a pivotal role in defining and negotiating boundaries and establishing comfort levels in information sharing. Building on communication privacy management theory and self-determination theory, we examined in three studies (two experiments and one field study) how the relationship with the supervisor (LMX) shapes the associations between (a) supervisor's use of EPM, its perceived invasiveness, and privacy invasion (Study 1, 2, 3), and (b) privacy invasion and needs, intrinsic motivation, and turnover intentions (Study 3). Specifically, we theorized that a high LMX that builds on trust should mitigate privacy invasion from invasive electronic performance monitoring. In addition, we hypothesized that high LMX can help employees cope with privacy invasion and consequently reduce need thwarting, decreased intrinsic motivation, and turnover intention. While we found some support for the role of LMX in the emergence of privacy invasion from invasive EPM, our data did not reveal that a high LMX reduces need thwarting and related outcomes due to perceived privacy invasion. This research provides timely insights with a multimethod approach into if and how the social context shapes unintended consequences from using electronic monitoring.

Navigating communication privacy in pseudo-administration: Indonesian female civil servant experiences of applying written divorce permission

Navigating communication privacy in pseudo-administration: Indonesian female civil servant experiences of applying written divorce permission

Privacy? What’s that? Differences in privacy boundaries

PurposeWhile research on privacy concerns is rich in understanding and depth, there is still not a clear understanding of why people express having privacy concerns, but do not behave consistently with their concern. We propose that this misalignment derives from a diverse set of privacy boundaries, depending on the user. This research builds on prior Communication Privacy Management Theory research to further define individual privacy boundaries. Beyond that, we evaluate the relationship between the privacy boundaries people set, and their ability to protect themselves.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted to assess how private individuals find twenty items. Along with measuring the sensitivity of information, we collected responses on the Online Privacy Information Literacy test to measure differences in sensitivity based on privacy knowledge. 285 participant’s responses were evaluated using exploratory factor analysis and K-means clustering.FindingsWe identify five different groups of privacy indicators. Our findings also suggest that users have limited understanding of how to keep data private, even if they have high privacy concerns.Originality/valueWe contribute to theory by offering guidance on how to better apply theoretical understanding, based on our results. More explicitly, we offer analysis that suggests boundary conditions might be absent from current theoretical understanding. Practically, we offer guidance for understanding privacy differences, which is important to understanding how to implement privacy protection laws.

Influence of Organizational Security Learning Practices on Insider Security Threats in SoCs in Kenya

Insider threats have consistently been identified as key threats to State-owned Corporations and governments (SoCs). Research has shown that huge amounts of resources go towards safeguarding organizations’ assets and information systems from external threats in total disregard of potential threats from malicious and compromised insiders. Recent studies indicate that insider threats are on the rise and have cost the Kenyan economy $ 36Million USD. In addition, investigations show that these threats are increasing in scale, scope, and sophistication. The general objective of the study was to investigate on the organizational factors influencing insider security threats in State-owned Corporations in Kenya. Specifically, the study evaluated the influence of organizational security policies, organizational security learning practices and organizational communication practices on insider security threats in State-owned Corporations in Kenya. The study was anchored on the CISA Insider Threats Risk Score Model, deterrence theory, social learning theory and the communication privacy management theory. The study adopted descriptive correlational research design. The target population was 187 State-owned Corporations in Kenya. A census sampling design was used targeting the Security managers or their equivalent in SoCs. The researcher utilized a self-administered questionnaire as the data collection method. Data was analysed through quantitative techniques using the SPSS. The study established that organizational security policies have significant influence on insider security threats in SoCs in Kenya. The study also established that organizational security learning practices have significant influence on insider security threats in SoCs in Kenya. In addition, the study revealed that organizational communication practices have significant influence on insider security threats in SoCs in Kenya. The study also deduced that the combined influence of organizational security policies, learning practices and communication practices (organizational factors) significantly influence insider security threats in SoCs in Kenya. The study recommends that SoCs consider conducting a comprehensive review of their existing security policies, ensuring clarity on the severity of consequences for insider threats. Further, the study recommends that SoCs work on strengthening their learning policies to emphasize the importance of observational learning, role modeling, and positive reinforcement in the context of security awareness to address insider security threats. Additionally, the study recommends that SoCs provide training programs that emphasize effective communication practices surrounding privacy management.

Understanding user engagement in mobile health applications from a privacy management perspective.

Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) have surged in popularity for their role in promoting knowledge exchange and providing emotional support among health consumers. However, this enhanced social connectivity via these apps has led to an escalation in privacy breaches, potentially hindering user engagement. Drawing upon the communication privacy management theory, this study proposes a moderated mediation model to link social privacy concerns to user engagement in mHealth apps. An online survey involving 1149 mHealth app users was conducted in China to empirically validate the proposed model. Results indicated that social privacy concerns were negatively related to user engagement in mHealth apps, and perceived privacy of the app partially mediated this relationship. Moreover, perceived control positively moderated the indirect relationship between social privacy concerns and user engagement via perceived privacy. Specifically, the negative impact of social privacy concerns on perceived privacy was mitigated for users who reported higher levels of perceived control, indicating that when users feel more in control of their personal data, they are less affected by concerns over social privacy. Theoretically, this study has the potential to help scholars understand user engagement in mHealth apps from a privacy management perspective. Practically, the results of this study could assist mobile app providers and health professionals in devising evidence-based strategies to enhance social engagement and promote effective and sustainable use of mHealth apps among health consumers.

Analysis of the access to electronic communications metadata for the purposes of criminal law enforcement in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Objective: This research intended to analyse the adequacy of the legal frameworks of the access to electronic communications metadata in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purposes of law enforcement with the current Law of the European Union, an essential topic for balancing the effectiveness of criminal investigations with the fundamental rights of citizens in the current connected societies, moreover as the negotiations for accession are currently ongoing. Methodology: The Comparative Method of Legal Research, in the strict sense, was mostly followed, also taking into consideration the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the privacy and data protection policies of the main electronic communications operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Results: After identifying and evaluating in detail the main issues arising from the current national legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this research shows that, in general terms, it is already compatible with the rules and principles in force in the European Union, following the case-law of its Court of Justice. Contributions: The research puts into evidence the current state of the Sources of Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina and how they are adjusting to the standards of the European Union, especially regarding privacy and data protection in electronic communications, as well as points out the necessary legislative initiatives in order to achieve a full compliance of criminal investigations with such standards, that may serve as guidelines for the other countries also in accession processes.

A Black-Box Privacy Analysis of Messaging Service Providers' Chat Message Processing

Online messaging has rapidly emerged as today's primary communication platform, extending from personal, to business and even to government channels. But can these services be trusted to maintain the privacy of your communication? This paper addresses this question by evaluating 105 different online messaging platforms. Utilizing “honey” messages and active HTTP(S) , WebSocket, and WebRTC traffic monitoring, along with continuous observation of honey token access, we determine which messaging services process user messages beyond mere transmission. We conduct a large-scale honey token-based study on 69 popular web and 36 mobile messaging applications. Our findings reveal that 34 % of messaging services show capabilities of server-side message analysis. Seven of these messengers evidently conduct an extended analysis of the messages, reusing the results hours to an observed maximum of a month after the chat concluded. This shows that one cannot automatically expect the same confidentiality when chatting via messengers compared to in-person communication.