Using a distributed sensor network to educate children about IoT leakage of sensitive information

The vast majority of Australian children own a smartphone. High rates of smartphone ownership are associated with high rates of leakage of sensitive information. A child’s time and location patterns are enough to enable someone to build an accurate profile of the child. But children think that their devices already ensure that their sensitive information is secure. The aim of this study was to use off-the-shelf computing devices to educate school age children about leakage of sensitive information from IoT devices. A Distributed Sensor Network (DSN) was assembled and installed around a high school campus in Australia to measure leakage from IoT devices. Children were then informed of the results of the DSN monitoring, during an online safety lesson, which trained them on how to change common default device settings to reduce data leakage. The DSN then again measured the amount of leakage from IoT devices to see if children modified their device settings to reduce leakage of sensitive information. The results of the study revealed that the amount of data leaked from smartphones after the intervention was significantly less than the traffic captured before the intervention, thus confirming the intervention must have had an effect on changing children’s behaviour. It is recommended that this evidence-based program be expanded to other high schools in Australia to empower children to secure their sensitive information.