Security and Privacy Implications of Remote Proctoring for School Policies and Practices

Higher education institutions have steadily expanded online course offerings, especially after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time, many instructors were faced with the dilemma of how to administer exams, quizzes effectively, and other in-class assignments in an online setting in which live, in-person proctoring was not available. Online proctoring quickly became an attractive option to monitor students remotely while completing an assignment. In response to this increasing shift towards learning (and testing) from home, this project will examine the security and privacy implications of remote proctoring services as they pertain to school policies and educational practices. This multi-pronged research program will examine how these services impact students, educators, and institutions' security and privacy. The research program is inspired by the widespread adoption of remote proctoring services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the findings will be more broadly applicable as institutions will likely continue to offer virtual classes and online technology services to support those classes.

The research activities are multidisciplinary and will advance knowledge in pedagogy as well as address vulnerabilities that stem from human behaviors and choices in security and privacy. Online proctoring technology requires extensive monitoring capabilities to work properly; these include systems for observing behavior (e.g., screen capture and video/audio recording) and restricting behavior (e.g., lock-down browsing and the installation of network firewall rules). In combination, these monitoring and restricting functionalities impose privacy and security risks on the students who are completing assignments in this setting. The research activities will directly address how students, educators, and institutions understand this exposure and its impact. Additionally, the project will identify the kinds of monitoring and restrictions that are effective and necessary. The research activities and findings will also contribute to fundamental research in usable security/privacy and educational research that considers the pedagogy and efficacy of online proctoring tools.

This project is supported by the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program, which funds proposals that address cybersecurity and privacy, and in this case specifically cybersecurity education. The SaTC program aligns with the Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan and the National Privacy Research Strategy to protect and preserve the growing social and economic benefits of cyber systems while ensuring security and privacy.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.