Security Surveyor

Addressing threats to personal data usage online by Jenna Young and Nathan Yacovetta

The Problem

Many people do not know about security threats of websites they are visiting. People also lack knowledge of what type of information is safe and what is being shared without their knowledge.

What is one of the biggest security threats?

While there are a wide array of security threats online, people often are not as cautious to check what they might be sharing to the world.

What currently exists to address this issue?

Most websites use an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to encrypt their files so that they cannot be intercepted by outside sources. However, many people have gotten too used to the luxury of protected data and have forgotten to check for systems like SSL.

How are we going to address this?

We are going to create a program that checks if a website is not using SSL, and if this is true and a text box exists somewhere in the frames of the website, a notification will appear stating that the data is not protected.

What is our program?

Our program is an extension that can be added to your website browser and alerts you if the website is asking for data in a method that is unprotected.

How does our program work?

Our program first uses SSL to determine if the website’s data is visible to third parties. If this data is visible our program scans the website to see if there are any input boxes in the website. If that is also true our program alerts the user that any data they share will be visible to third parties.

What are our next steps?

• Develop an algorithm to provide a score that incorporates other aspects of a website in order provide a more complete security rating
• Using various aspects of the score, provide the user with precautions that should be taken when using a website that is not an immediate threat but is also not completely safe and secure

Any Questions?

Thanks for listening from the Security Surveyor Team!