Collins Munyendo

About Me

I am a fifth year Computer Science PhD candidate in the Usable Security and Privacy Lab at the George Washington University where I am fortunate to be advised by Adam Aviv. I am closely working with Yixin Zou and Elissa Redmiles for the final chapter of my PhD. My research focuses on human factors in digital security and privacy. I investigate how users, especially understudied groups, interact with, use, and/or misuse security and privacy tools, then design more usable and secure solutions. I received my Masters from Carnegie Mellon University and Bachelors from Strathmore University.

Recent News

Sep 2024: Excited to have been selected for the 2024 New England Computing & Data Science Rising Stars program at Boston University!

Aug 2024: Super honored to be among the 11 finalists for the inaugural Strathmore University Alumni of the Year Service to Society award!

Jul 2024: Enjoyed attending the EPFL Summer Research Institute in Lausanne, and the CISPA Usable Security Summer School in Saarbrucken!

Selected Publications

"In Eighty Percent of the Cases, I Select the Password for Them": Security and Privacy Challenges, Advice, and Opportunities at Cybercafes in Kenya
Collins W. Munyendo, Yasemin Acar, and Adam J. Aviv
IEEE S&P 2023 [URL] [PDF] [Video]
Distinguished Paper Award

"The Same PIN, Just Longer": On the (In)Security of Upgrading PINs from 4 to 6 digits
Collins W. Munyendo, Philipp Markert, Alexandra Nisenoff, Miles Grant, Elena Korkes, Blase Ur, and Adam J. Aviv
USENIX Security 2022 [URL] [PDF] [Video] [Slides]

"Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures": User Concerns with Mobile Loan Apps in Kenya
Collins W. Munyendo, Yasemin Acar, and Adam J. Aviv
IEEE S&P 2022 [URL] [PDF] [Video]