CCE Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems (DISS)

Department

College of Computing and Engineering

Advisor

Ling Wang

Committee Member

Junping Sun

Committee Member

Gregory Simco

Keywords

CFIP, Design Science Research, IoT, Risk, Smart-Home Devices

Abstract

In today’s technology-dependent society, information privacy and cybersecurity boundaries between human-to-machine-to-web are non-existent or built on questionable business practices. Consumers are becoming more reliant on and even addicted to their technological enabling, or internet of things (IoT), life tools (e.g., smartphones, smarthome devices, smart-wearable devices). Nevertheless, consumer information privacy rights in the United States have not fully matured to legal ramifications against businesses like in other countries, e.g., the European Union’s 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The real issue lies in consumers not understanding the opportunity cost of associated privacy trade-offs. While some are unaware, others disregard such trade-offs for the sake of technological convenience—a phenomenon known as the privacy paradox. Past research studies have focused on environments like online forums and social media, assessing human behaviors to understand their effects on the concerns of information privacy (CFIP). This research attempts to enrich the existing body of knowledge by addressing consumer privacy concerns on smart-home IoT devices more holistically using applied research toward the cultivation of risk-conscious behavior through a tangible utility. This study investigates the information privacy concerns U.S. consumers face when using smart-home IoT devices. More specifically, it identifies the deeper problem of the lack of regulations and guidance from the U.S. government and private industry. This investigation leverages the design science research (DSR) process and interactive design user experience (UX) principles to develop, evaluate, and design an effective tool for human conditioning—coined as the Privacy Home Automation Assessment Technology Scorecard, or PHAATS. Based on the results of the research study, participants from a diverse sample population significantly agreed that the U.S. government should introduce a PHAATS system. This system aims to raise awareness of the privacy threats posed by smart-home IoT devices, enabling consumers to make more informed purchasing decisions. Furthermore, it would aid in sensitizing society to privacy risks and potential harm to their identity.

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