Human-Centered Security

UX and cybersecurity have a lot of things in common: it can be hard to get buy-in from stakeholders and both are often thought about only after something goes wrong. Natalie Hill, a senior product designer with expertise building network, web, and email security solutions, talks understanding information security risk, balancing ease-of-use without introducing unnecessary risk, as well as tips for working with teams and getting stakeholder buy-in.

Show Notes

In this episode we talk about:
  • Thinking about cybersecurity risk from a UX practitioner’s perspective.
  • Balancing ease of use while not introducing unnecessary risk.
  • Building personas and scenarios for bad actors so you can make conscious decisions about how controls might be circumvented.
  • The importance of content strategy and collaborating with UX writers.
  • Tips for conducting user research when it’s difficult to get access to end users.
Natalie Hill is a senior product designer with over 20 years of professional experience and a Master of Science in Information Studies. Her niche is enterprise UX. She loves finding elegant solutions to complex design problems and understanding the psychology that drives human behavior. Natalie considers cybersecurity one of the most important things in the world and has spent the last four years designing network, web, and email security solutions.

Natalie is a seasoned guitar player who enjoys playing live with a band in non-pandemic times. She is also on the board of directors of the nonprofit Girls Rock Austin, an organization dedicated to empowering girls, transgender, and non-binary youth through music education, mentorship, and self-care.

What is Human-Centered Security?

Cybersecurity is complex. Its user experience doesn’t have to be. Heidi Trost interviews information security experts about how we can make it easier for people—and their organizations—to stay secure.