We are the Privacy, Accessibility, Security Tech for All (PASTA) Lab, housed in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. We are passionate about creating inclusive and accessible technologies for people with different characteristics (e.g., children, people with various disabilities, older adults, etc.) to fulfill their privacy and security needs. Our recent work covers a wide variety of technological domains, such as smart homes, virtual/augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and the broader Internet of Things.
Our work focuses on the following three aspects:
- Understanding privacy: We aim to understand the privacy perceptions, needs, expectations, and behaviors of different user groups. I am particularly interested in the tension among different stakeholders in these environments, such as the conflicting needs between users and bystanders in smart homes.
- Engineering privacy: We build systems and interventions to inform people of their nearby data practices and help them take control of their privacy. I am particularly interested in exploring solutions that account for the needs of different stakeholders (i.e., a multi-stakeholder lens) rather than prioritizing one stakeholder’s needs over another’s.
- Educating privacy: We design and construct interactive artifacts to educate people about various privacy and cybersecurity concepts.
Please see our publication page for our most recent work.
For Perspective Students:
We are actively looking for motivated students. If you are interested in joining our lab, please email Dr. Yaxing Yao (first name at vt dot edu) with your CV and a brief introduction to your research interests.