The research group SECUSO (Security, Usability, and Society) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has been awarded with the Federal Consumer Protection Award by the German Consumer Protection Foundation (DSV). The researchers developed simple, user-friendly concepts and tools to help users of online services, apps, and software to maintain their privacy and data security. The foundation of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations hands out this award to exceptional consumer protection projects. On Monday, September 26, the award was presented by Federal Minister for Consumer Protection Steffi Lemke in Berlin. It is endowed with a prize money of 2 500 euros.
“IT security has to be comprehensible and feasible for everybody,” Professor Melanie Volkamer, Head of the SECUSO research group, explains their ambitions. “To achieve this, we offer free and clear information material on how to protect against fraudulent messages and protect user accounts with secure passwords.” SECUSO developed numerous methods, support tools, advice, and explanation videos around data security that are available online. For example, they present privacy-friendly versions for popular applications, like a flashlight, to-do list, step counter, or sudoku, that request only the permission needed for functionality without including any tracking mechanisms.
SECUSO belongs to the umbrella brand KASTEL Security Research Labs.
Weitere Informationen:
https://secuso.aifb.kit.edu/642.php
https://www.verbraucherstiftung.de/
https://www.verbraucherstiftung.de/bundespreis
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