The joint study agreement between FCUL and IBM Research has been extended for one year. LASIGE researchers Tiago Guerreiro, Diogo Marques, and Luís Carriço, will continue to collaborate with staff at IBM’s TJ Watson Research Center, on research studies on the growing area of Usable Security, as well as on Mobile Accessibility.

Usable Security is an upcoming research area that takes into consideration the human element in security systems. From preventing security breaches, which are often the result of human error, to making security decisions understandable by non-specialists, usable security lies in the intersection between Human-Computer Interaction and Security, two research areas in which LASIGE has strong credentials.

Accessibility is a research area concerned with making computers usable by everyone, including people with disabilities and older adults. Mobile devices have brought new challenges into this domain, and also new opportunities to build access technologies.

Tiago Guerreiro, the technical coordinator on LASIGE’s side, said: “We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with IBM Research. Usable Security is a new research area within LaSIGE, that can create bridges between our efforts in Human-Computer Interaction and Security. Collaborating with world-renowned experts at IBM is an exciting opportunity to consolidate and expand this new area.”.