Interconnected devices support and occasionally exasperate us in our daily lives and working environment. Yet it is this interwoven fabric of information linking virtually all our activities that may allow a small mistake or attack to have a disproportionate effect. But is it really as dramatic as “one regrettable click leading inexorably to disaster”?

In this lecture, researchers from Royal Holloway’s Information Security Group and Psychology Department explore the technical means allowing attackers to effect breaches and the psychological reasons for remaining vulnerable in spite of all awareness that such attacks are commonplace.

Building on a narrative about a seemingly ordinary day in the life going rather wrong, examples of security breaches and the psychological social engineering they exploit will be drawn from different spheres of life, including at home and in the workplace.