Projects aim to build trust in digital age
Two Edinburgh research projects have been awarded funding to explore challenging areas around the use of data.
One aims to address issues of sensitively managing health data, faced by people with long term conditions such as HIV.
The other will create a digital mirror, letting a user see the cumulative nature of their personal data and highlighting its vulnerabilities and risks.
Digital security
The projects are among eleven across UK universities that will collectively receive £11 million over the next three years from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The EPSRC has prioritised research that examines the use and exploitation of personal data.
Specifically, it asked for proposals that would deepen understanding in trust, identity, privacy and security in the digital age.
Health data
INTUIT: Interaction Design for Trusted Sharing of Personal Health Data to Live Well with HIV is a project that aims to tackle fundamental privacy challenges faced by those living with stigmatised conditions such as HIV in managing their health and interacting with care services, peer support networks, and private organisations.
In close collaboration with partners, INTUIT will develop new tools to provide people with opportunity and choice for managing the trusted sharing of their self-generated data with others.
Ewa Luger, Chancellor’s Fellow in Digital Arts and Humanities at Edinburgh College of Art, will work on the project, which is led by Northumbria University in collaboration with UCL, City, University of London, and the University of Bristol.
Online footprint
Cumulative Revelations of Personal Data is a collaboration between academics, the Royal Bank of Scotland and UK security agencies.
When shared, small, apparently innocuous pieces of personal information can pose risks to personal reputation and employers’ operation security.
The project will develop a prototype software tool to map out a user’s digital footprint, reflecting it back to them to allow them to understand the overall view of their personal data and the risks involved.
Professor Burkhard Schafer from the University’s Law School will contribute. The project is led by the University of Dundee and also involve the universities of Strathclyde and Northumbria.
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