Dr Jason Nurse to co-investigate how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can become more privacy aware

Dr Jason nurse will join Maria Bada (Queen Mary University London), Steven Furnell (University of Nottingham) in investigating current practices in relation to the drivers and unique obstacles that SMEs face, in making privacy-aware decisions. The project, funded by REPHRAIN (the National Research Centre on Privacy, Harm Reduction and Adversarial Influence Online), aims to help SMEs understand the significance of privacy threats to their business, and support them in applying appropriate measures to face them.

The 12-month project will address three key challenges: the lack of wider research and understanding around the extent to which SMEs understand and use Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs); how best they could be supported in order to use PETs more effectively, given their constraints; and how to enable effective communication and engagement with SMEs.

Dr Jason Nurse said about the project:

"Organisations and users face numerous occurrences of privacy incidents and data breaches. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), in particular, often do not fully appreciate the importance of privacy threats, with owners and operators more immersed in day-to-day business operations and dedicating primary resources elsewhere. This research project aims to help SMEs address privacy concerns through the development of a SME Privacy Starter Pack (SPSP). This pack would promote awareness about privacy tailored to SMEs and their context, and support SMEs in identifying how privacy and related privacy-enhancing technologies are pertinent to them."