This week’s readings focused on the introduction to usable security through the design of it, both big picture and specific examples, such as password protection. Each of the three articles – (1) On actor-network theory. A few clarifications plus more than a few complications, (2) A Brief Introduction to Usable Security and, (3) DesignX: Complex Sociotechnical Systems. Each take a different direction in speaking about design of usable security, some conveying easier it to newcomers than the others.
Article 1, by Bruno Latour, focuses on the computer network and how available it is in today’s society. “Nothing is more intensely connected, more distant, more compulsory and more strategically organized than a computer network” (Latour, 2). Latour uses graphs and examples to show that networks are more connected than people themselves, I think. This notion is very dystopic sounding because it forces the reader to take a look at how far the computer network has come since its’ infancy. How far we can connected to the digital world.
Article 2, by Bryan D Payne and Keith Edwards, is a more of an introductory article, speaking in more laymen’s terms and taking the time to explain the usable security world. They use, what they think are two significant areas of usable security (password authentication and email encryption), to explain how it affects the everyday person. They go through the history of each, both starting in the early 1980s. Logically, I know computers have been around for most of the twentieth century until now, I always think the widespread use of them started when the world wide web became a hit in the mid-1990s. So to see these two functions have a longer history surprised me, when in reality they should not have.
Article 3, by Donald A Norman, focuses on design as well, but through the eyes of sociotechnical constructs, such as healthcare and transportation. Norman talks about these issues to make a bridge between them and the designers. They are real world examples and give substance to his argument. I think he is wondering if the design techniques taught in school are up to the task of these systems already put into place by society.
All three of these articles were full of technical jargon and I had a hard time sifting through to the core argument of each. However, they were meant to be read by peers within the field, so it is understandable.
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