Recent developments in security and privacy have emphasized the need to consider human factors in security and privacy research and design. At the same time, however, most of the existing body of work has focused on Western populations, particularly in the US and Europe, despite other research showing that security and privacy perceptions and practices vary across countries and cultures. Consequently, the security and privacy solutions designed and evaluated in the West can quickly fall apart when used or applied to other regions in the “majority world,” leaving end-users at risk.

In this talk, I will share security and privacy perceptions, challenges, and practices of various “majority world” populations. The first part of the talk will specifically focus on Kenya, a middle-income country in East Africa where a majority of users rely on mobile phones to access the Internet, presenting unanticipated security and privacy challenges in their online practices. Additionally, the Kenyan government has recently digitized a majority of government services, including passport and drivers’ license applications and renewals, posing a lot of usability and security challenges for many users that had otherwise never used computers nor created online accounts before. The second part of the talk will go beyond Kenya to highlight security and privacy concerns and advice-seeking practices in 10 “majority world” countries. Lastly, I will discuss future directions to better support the security and privacy of diverse user populations.