Home » Kristiina Karvonen

Kristiina Karvonen

B.A. (Art History), M.A. (Cognitive Science), D. Sc. Tech. (Telecommunications Software),  Group leader,  USec research group
Post-doctoral Reseacher, Future Internet Research Programme Manager
Photographer's muse
Street address: Spektri Business Park, Pilotti Building, 3rd floor,
Metsänneidonkuja 4, Espoo, Finland
Mail address: Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT,
P.O.Box 19800 00076 AALTO Finland
Phone:+358 9 470 28362  Mobile: +358 50 3841 624
Email: firstname.lastname(at)hiit.fi

Research Interests

With a background in telecommunications, cognitive science and the arts, I am interested in investigating how people use and experience the Internet. I currently mainly work in the area of usable security. This includes elements of human trust translated to online environments and how people can manage their privacy and security, designing secure user interfaces and enhancing and enabling secure user experience and behaviour.

I am also into anything to do with human-computer interaction, usability and user experience in general.

Recent activities

June 3, 2010 The IEEE Security & Privacy poster has been accepted to be presented again at SOUPS 2010.

May 18, 2010 Our demo on "Secure and usable P2P VoIP for mobile devices" was accepted for Mobile HCI 2010. The work has been done jointly with Joakim Koskela from HIIT's Networking group

April 16, 2010 Our poster on Social Sharing of Security Expertise got accepted to IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy 2010! hoo-ray!

January 22, 2010 My Usability and security course will start at CSE, Aalto University. See course overview

December 17, 2009 My research group on Usable Security, Privacy and Trust (USec) was established! The group consists of researchers with multiple backgrounds in telecommunications, computer security, human-computer interaction, psychology, sociology and industrial design.

August 28, 2009 I presented our paper on " WidSets: A Usability Study of Widget Sharing" at the INTERACT 09 conference in Uppsala, Sweden.The paper describes a study on reputation elements in the Internet. We sought to understand the motivations and instigators of the actual usage, the level of understanding, and acceptance of online reputation elements.

July 16, 2009 I held a discussion session in SOUPS 09 with the title  "How does the emergence of reputation mechanisms affect the overall trust formation mechanisms, implicit and explicit, in the online environment?" - to raise discussion among SOUPS participants on this important phenomenon. The topic is related to my research in the FI SHOK project.

Currently working on

• Usable Security, Privacy and Trust (USec) research group leader 12/2009-
• FI research programme management 11/2007 -
• ICT SHOK FI SRA 2nd year 06/2009 -
  
  • WP 6 Security (researcher)
  • WP5 Dissemination and International Collaboration (wp leader)
  • FI SRA @ HIIT (project manager)
• FICNIA Finland-ICSI Center for Novel Internet Architectures 09/2007- (coordinator)
• OtaSizzle User studies related to privacy awareness and management (with CSE) 01/2010 -
• VIBE - HIIT internal project (with COMNET) summer 2010
• Nordic-Finnish collaboration on Usable Security, Privacy and Trust 2010-11

Teaching

1999-  Courses on usable security: I have been teaching a post-graduate course T-110.5220 Information Security and Usability at 1999 and again since 2006 at  CSE, Aalto University as part of the curriculum. Additionally, I have also run the advanced seminar in usable security.

2000-2004: Human-Computer Interaction I and II at Medialab at  University of Art and Design Helsinki,: The introductory course in Human-Computer Interaction in fall semesters, as a mandatory course for all New Media master's students. I also taught the advanced course in HCI in spring semesters that was optional. Both courses were new additions to the curriculum and created by yours truly.

On top of the above, I have acted as tutor on CSE courses T-110.5290 Seminar on Network Security and T-110.5190 Seminar on Internetworking since 2006.

I have also taught at University of Helsinki in the department of Art History on a seminar on Contemporary Critique on Art and Architecture before 2000.

Teaching in 2010

• T-110.5220 Information Security and Usability spring 2010 term III and IV at CSE, Aalto University
• T-110.7190 A reading group for graduate students on recent work in security and usable security, jointly with Professor Tuomas Aura fall 2010 terms I and II, Tuesdays 4-6 pm at T5  at CSE, Aalto University
• tutoring in T-110.5290 Seminar on Network Security, topics in usable security area, fall 2010 terms I and II at CSE, Aalto University

Short CV

My background is in Cognitive Science, from the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki. I am also an art historian from the Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki. Previously, I have worked in the arts world, initially as museum guide, then as art writer and exhibition producer in the Helsinki region - in Kiasma, Didrichsen, Hvitträsk, Design museum, and as lecturer in the Art History department of University of Helsinki. After finishing my doctoral studies on telecommunications software, I now work at HIIT, leading my research group USec working on Usable security, privacy and trust and managing the Future Internet research programme.The group also actively works with HIIT's Network Society research programme.

Publications (on a separate page)