HCI International News, Number 105, January 2021

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HAPPY NEW YEAR | WISH WE ALL RECOVER FROM DISASTER OF VIRUS SOON

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Our deepest sympathy goes to the families of those who died due to coronavirus infection in the world. We hope the world soon recovers from this disaster, and things are going to get better soon.

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HCII 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

• Important Deadlines
• Conference Details
• Tutorials' Program
• Poster proposals submission - deadline: 29 January 2021
• Keynote speech by Michitaka Hirose
• Registration

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

• The Capital Hacking Case in 2020: SolarWinds Hack
• Recent News and Articles
• Upcoming Conferences and Events
• About HCI International NEWS

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HCII 2021: Important Deadlines

• 29 January 2021: Poster proposal submission - an abstract of 300 words is required
• 12 February 2021: camera-ready paper submission (extended deadline)
• 19 February 2021: deadline for author registration per paper

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HCII 2021: Conference Details

With everyone’s health and safety in mind, HCII2021 will be organized and run as a virtual conference under the auspices of 21 distinguished international boards. Please visit the Conference website for the list of topics of each Thematic Area / Affiliated Conference.

Additionally, the Conference has a long established tradition of inviting distinguished scientists and professionals in the broader HCI field to organize parallel sessions. Prospective authors should submit their proposal upon invitation from a session organizer. The process is open until 29 January 2021 (under the guidance of Parallel Session Organizers).

An award will be presented to the Best Paper of each of the HCII 2021 Thematic Areas / Affiliated Conferences and the Best Poster extended abstract.

The Conference Proceedings will be published by Springer in a multi-volume set. Papers will appear in volumes of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) and Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) series. Poster Extended Abstracts in the form of short research papers will be published in the Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) series.

The Conference Program is adapted to suit the needs of the virtual format. Parallel sessions and tutorials will run concurrently over the six-day period (24-29 July 2021). In this way, the daily load of the conference is four hours (two sessions, two-hours each, with a half-hour break in-between).

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HCII 2021: Tutorials' Program

Sunday, 25 July 2021, 08:00 – 12:00 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time - Washington DC)

T01     Simple (interactive) statistics for HCI
Jean-Bernard Martens

T02     Learning Engineering Bootcamp
Jim Goodell, Aaron Kessler

T03     Automotive UX Design Based on Intercultural Research
Zaiyan Gong

T04     Sketching in HCI
Makayla Lewis, Miriam Sturdee

T05     Neuroergonomics in Aviation: Monitoring and Enhancing Human-System Performance in Operational Environment
Kurtulus Izzetoglu, Assaf Harel, Cengiz Acarturk

T06     Ethical Considerations in HCI
Janet C. Read

 

Monday, 26 July 2021, 08:00 – 12:00 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time - Washington DC)

T07     On The Go: Design for Mobile Apps and Devices
Elizabeth Rosenzweig

T08     Agile Research Data for Agile Teams
Everett McKay

T09     Cross-Cultural HCI/User-Experience Design: What are Differences and Similarities of User Preferences and Expectations, including China?
Aaron Marcus

T10     UX Magic: The Conceptual Model foundation of IxD
Daniel Rosenberg

T11     Speech-based Interaction: Myths, Challenges and Opportunities
Cosmin Munteanu, Gerald Penn

T12     Introduction to Socio-Technical HCI Theory and Action
Torkil Clemmensen

 

Tuesday, 27 July 2021, 08:00 – 12:00 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time - Washington DC)

T13     Usability Testing of Mobile Apps and Devices
Elizabeth Rosenzweig

T14     Intuitive and Simple Design
Everett McKay

T15     HCI/UX in Science-Fiction Movies/TV: What can We Learn from the Past 100 Years of the Future?
Aaron Marcus

T16     Game Theory for Interaction Design
Daniel Rosenberg

T17     Latest Advances in Deep Learning for Multimodal and Multisensorial Signal Analysis
Bjoern Schuller, Nicholas Cummins

T18     Universal Access and technology to support independent living
Simeon Keates

T19     Eye Tracking: Applications, Analytics, Interaction
Andrew Duchowski

 

Wednesday, 28 July 2021, 08:00 – 12:00 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time - Washington DC)

T20     Dashboard Design and Data Visualization
Abbas Moallem

T21     Prototyping with Arduino using Tinkercad
Panayiotis Zaphiris, Andreas Papallas

T22     Shifting to Digital: 360VR for Immersive Learning
Andri Ioannou, Andreas Kitsi, Raluca Maxim

T23     The role of rapid prototyping in a UX design environment
Martin Maguire

T24     Usable Bots: How to design and evaluate conversational User Interfaces
Andreas Bleiker, Kyoko Sugisaki

T25     Using the System Usability Scale
James Lewis

T26     Design for Efficiency
Helmut Degen

 

Thursday, 29 July 2021, 08:00 – 12:00 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time - Washington DC)

T27     10 Things you need to know to protect yourself and your company from cyber attacks
Abbas Moallem

T28     Become a Remote Design Sprint Expert
Panayiotis Zaphiris, Andreas Papallas

T29     Shifting to Digital: Gamification in Course Design
Andri Ioannou, Andreas Kitsi, Raluca Maxim

T30     Driving Innovation with Enterprise Design Thinking
kevin l. schultz, Camillo Sassano, Aaron Cox, Baxter Schanze

T31     Non-invasive Brain Computer Interfaces for stroke rehabilitation and consciousness assessment
Günter Edlinger, Danut Irimia, Ren Xu, Natalie Mrachacz-Kersting

T32     How to design UX for mobile application: methods and tools
Paolo Perego, Roberto Sironi

T33     Fundamentals of Adaptive Instructional Systems
Robert A. Sottilare, Xiangen Hu

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HCII 2021: Poster proposals submission - deadline: 29 January 2021

Posters constitute short reports on scientific results or professional news or work in progress. Present your novel ideas in a simple, concise and visually appealing manner. Accepted submissions will be included in the Conference Proceedings to be published by Springer in the Computer and Information Science (CCIS) series.

Prospective poster authors should submit their abstracts (300 words), including the essence of the planned presentation, by 29 January 2021.

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HCII 2021: Keynote speech by Michitaka Hirose

HCII 2021: Prof. Michitaka Hirose (University of Tokyo, Japan) will give the Keynote Speech during the Opening Plenary Session Saturday, 24 July 2021, 08:00 EDT (Eastern Daylight Time Washington DC, USA).

 

“Advances in VR Technology and the Post-Coronavirus Society”.

The spread of COVID-19 is threatening to permanently change our society. Among other things, it has increased the cost of human contact and greatly restricted international travel. The future is uncertain and HCII2021 will be held as a virtual conference. This change is reminiscent of the oil shocks of approximately 50 years ago. The rise in energy costs forced changes in the industrial structures of countries around the world from heavy industries to light, thin, and short industries such as information technology. Here again, we are faced with similar challenges. Consequently, society will be changed irreversibly.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing an important role in this major change, particularly for VR, a technology that can transcend both time and space. VR has a 30-year history and has only recently found opportunities to spread in society. Telepresence technology that is capable of transmitting a distant presence will expand the potential of teleworking beyond office-based work to a whole new level. In addition, it may even replace some traditional physical transportation technologies.

By enriching virtual spaces as a new space for activity, we can regain activities that were reduced due to COVID-19. To achieve this, the existing currently technically under-developed VR technology must be further refined such as by expanding to networks and interface devices based on new principles, which will require technical advancement to the second generation. Thus, what exactly is the second generation of VR? This talk will introduce a series of rapidly advancing new VR technologies such as WebVR technology that enables users to easily experience VR through a web browser, pseudo-haptic technology that generates haptic sensations without complex mechanisms, and interface technology that uses new principles such as direct nerve stimulation. In addition, the social impact of these technologies will be discussed.

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HCII 2021: Registration

HCII 2021 is organized and will be run as a virtual conference and all fees are offered with a 50% discount of the 'in-person' fees.

Detailed information about the registration fees is available through the Conference website.

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The Capital Hacking Case in 2020: SolarWinds Hack

During the last days of 2020, the press reported that SolarWinds, a Texas-based company selling software which monitors companies' computer networks, was hacked. It appears that the hackers accessed a system that SolarWinds uses to put together updates for its Orion product, and inserted malicious code into an otherwise legitimate software update.

According to FIREYE, a Silicon Valley Company, "the attacks that [they] believe have been conducted as part of this campaign share certain common elements:

• Use of malicious SolarWinds update: Inserting malicious code into legitimate software updates for the Orion software that allow an attacker remote access into the victim's environment
• Light malware footprint: Using limited malware to accomplish the mission while avoiding detection
• Prioritization of stealth: Going to significant lengths to observe and blend into normal network activity
• High OPSEC: Patiently conducting reconnaissance, consistently covering their tracks, and using difficult-to-attribute tools". [1]

According to several reports, the malware affected the US Departments of Homeland Security, State, Commerce, and Treasury as well as the National Institutes of Health. It is also reported that 17 nuclear programs run by the US Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration were also targeted. [1]

ZDNet reported that according to CISA "...the threat actor behind the SolarWinds hack also used password guessing and password spraying attacks to breach targets as part of its recent hacking campaign and didn't always rely on trojanized updates as its initial access vector." [2]

The consequences of this attack and the extent of damage are still not clear. According to some reports, US intelligence agencies attributed the sophisticated malware campaign to Russia. [3, 4]

This significant case serves as another illustration of the importance of cybersecurity in system design. It also shows the importance of having human agents in system protection.

HCII 2021, the 3rd International Conference on HCI for Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Trust, intends to promote and encourage research in this field by providing a forum for interaction and exchanges among researchers, academics, and practitioners in the areas of HCI and cybersecurity. The Conference addresses HCI principles, methods, and tools to manage the numerous and complex threats that put computer-mediated human activities in today's society at risk, activities which are progressively becoming more and more intertwined with, and dependent on, interactive technologies.

 

[1]  "Global Intrusion Campaign Leverages Software Supply Chain Compromise", fireeye.com, December 13, 2020.

[2]  "CISA: SolarWinds hackers also used password guessing to breach targets", ZDNet, January 8, 2021.

[3]  "Understanding of Russian Hacking Grows, So Does Alarm", New York Times, January 2, 2021, Updated January 5, 2021.

[4]  "SolarWinds hack officially blamed on Russia: What you need to know", CNET, January 5, 2021.

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Join the Human-Computer Interaction and Cybersecurity Linked In group at:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13609367/

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Recent News and Articles

• "Hacker Releases Information on Las Vegas-Area Students After Officials Don't Pay Ransom", The Wall Street Journal, September 28, 2020.
• "Facial Recognition Tools in Spotlight in New Jersey False-Arrest Case", The Washington Post, December 29, 2020.
• "Tech Platforms Vowed to Address Racial Equity: How Have They Fared?", The Guardian (U.K.), December 28, 2020.
• "Battery-Free IoT: These Tiny Printable Computers Harvest Energy From Radio Waves", Forbes, December 28, 2020.
• "Does the Shoe Fit? Try It On with Augmented Reality", The New York Times, December 22, 2020.
• "Farmers Get Their Own Security Advice as Cyberattacks Increase", ZDNet, December 22, 2020.
• "iPhones Vulnerable to Hacking Tools for Months, Researchers Say", The Guardian (U.K.), December 20, 2020.
• "EU Unveils Revamp of Cybersecurity Rules Days After Hack", Associated Press, December 18, 2020.
• "In a First, USAF Uses AI on Military Jet", The Washington Post, December 16, 2020.
• "Vaccinated? Show Us Your App", The New York Times, December 13, 2020.
• "Scientists Digitally Rebuild Dinosaur's Brain, Make Some Surprising Discoveries", CNN, December 1, 2020.
• "An AI Used Facebook Data to Predict Mental Illness", Wired, December 14, 2020.
• "EU Rights Watchdog Warns of Pitfalls in Use of AI", Reuters, December 14, 2020.
• "Smarter Traffic Lights, Calmer Commuters", The New York Times, December 10, 2020.
• "In Battle Against Hackers, Companies Try to Deceive the Deceivers", The Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2020.
• "Police Drones Starting to Think for Themselves", The New York Times, December 5, 2020.
• "Not to Be Sneezed At: How 3D Printing Is Supersizing the Tiny World of Pollen", The Guardian (U.K.), December 7, 2020.
• "Phishing Ploy Targets Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution Effort", Associated Press, December 3, 2020.
• "Driverless Cars Are Coming, But Not Yet to Take Over", The Wall Street Journal, December 2, 2020.
• "Do You Have a Conflict of Interest? This Robotic Assistant May Find It First", The New York Times, November 23, 2020.

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Upcoming Conferences and Events

RoCHI 2021 - International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
Bucharest, Romania, 16-17 September.

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About HCI International NEWS

The HCI International NEWS is a newsletter that contains information about the HCI International Conference, book reviews, news from the field of HCI, as well as links to interesting articles and conferences. If you have any questions or comments, or if you would like to make a contribution, please contact the Editor, Dr. Abbas Moallem. The opinions that are expressed in this Newsletter are the sole responsibility of its authors and do not represent any institution or company.

How to Contribute
We welcome your contribution to the HCI International News. Please send to us interesting news, short articles, interesting websites, etc. We will consider your comments and contributions for upcoming issues. Please send your contribution to the Editor, Dr. Abbas Moallem.

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