Social
"Human Practices is the study of how your work affects the world, and how the world affects your work." - Peter Carr
In this part of Human Practices of CryptoGERM, we decided to get in contact with the main audiences that we consider important for the realization and execution to our project:
- National Institutions: What are the current challenges that the experts in the field have to overcome in the area of encryption and cyber security?
- Potential Users: What are the current requirements that a potential user of CryptoGErM needs?
- Society: What is the current perception about cyber security among the society in general and how we can get them closer to our project and synthetic biology?
NATIONAL INSTITUIONS
National Cyber Security Center from the Ministry of Security and Justice of the Netherlands
We got in contact with the National Cyber Security Centre (Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum, NSCS) from the Ministry of Security and Justice of the Netherlands, in order to understand what are the current challenges and the requirements in the development of a system for the storing and sending of sensitive information. Such requirements are important for our project since we are able to have a clear idea of the actual and real application of CryptoGErM.
The feedback received from the NCSC relies in trying to solve two problems that are present everytime that the storing and sending of sensitive information is intended. The difficulty, according with the comments from the National Cyber Security Center, in securing stored information generally does not lie with the encryption methods, but rather with two other problems:
What do we do with the key?
How we solved this problem:
How do we securely decrypt and access the information?
How we solved this problem:
We believe that getting in contact with the National Institutions in charge of the protection of digital information, give us a better understanding of what professionals and experts expect from our project.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to this Institution for the comments received during the development of the project; such comments were really helpful for our project.
POTENTIAL USERS
Groningen Archives
CryptoGErM is a project focused in the storing of encrypted potentially large of data to ensure its protection and durability, and subsequent shipping by conventional means.. In order to understand what are the currents systems for the storing of data and how CryptoGErM could be used by Private and Public Institutions for the storing and preserving of their information, we got in contact with the Groningen Archives!
The Regionaal Historisch Centrum Groningen Archieven is the information center for the History of the city and the province of Groningen. Files, books, newspapers, maps, photos, films, videos, and voice recordings are stored and tell the story from the province of Groningen since the Middle Ages until now.
We learnt that the Groninger Archives store the old administrations of the State Institutions of the province of Groningen, although they also manage the archives of families, churches, societies and private companies.
Currently in the Groningen Archives, most of the information is stored on special, high quality paper, although other storing means are used such as tapes, CD’s, DVD’s for multimedia (films and audio recordings) However, for that type of storing, specific conditions are required to ensure the correct and long-preserving of the paper such as an specific temperature (18°C) in dry air carton boxes. Within the Groningen Archives the air composition and quality paper is controlled by a system in the building because the presence of acid in paper, that can come either from air or plastic, is the most common reason of disruption of the stored paper. We found out that in one hand, even with the right conditions the low quality paper (for example from newspapers) cannot be stored for long time, maybe just few decades. On the other hand, by taking right and strict controlled conditions some high quality papers can be stored hundred of years.
That is why, for 20 years the Groningen Archives has been preparing for the change from analogous data storage to digital data storage.
“Two things are important: the storability and the accessibility” - Jan Jaap Hoogstins
According to Jan Jaap Hoogstins, collection manager from the Groninger Archieven, the nature of the medium used for the storing does not matter as long as it is insured that the stored information is completely preserved. For him, “DNA in spores is a considerable option if the information does not change through mutations”
“DNA in spores is a considerable option (for the storing of information) if the information does not change through mutations” - Jan Jaap Hoogstins
As result of this interview we found out that our system can be used for such Institutions for the long-term storing of information due to, according to Jan Jaap Hoogstins, “there is no system yet that stores information forever in an entirely preserved manner”
However, Jan Jaap Hoogstins insisted that the bacteria must not present mutations…
CryptoGErM has done research and modelling about it!
We found out that it is unlikely that there is mutations in the message stored in our system. For more details and full description please refer to “Message Mutation” in the “Modelling” section.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Jan Jaap Hoogstins, collection manager from the Groninger Archieven for the facilities and the interview given to CryptoGErM. It was really helpful for the development and execution of our project!
SOCIETY
Survey
We performed a survey to understand what is the current perception about digital and physical storing of information among different sectors from the society, especially for young people, which are the most involved in the storing and exchanging of information.
The survey was designed together with one specialist, in order to adapt it with the requirements and professionalism that the conduction of a survey requires. We would like to thank publicly Diana Flores Flores from Mexico, for their contribution and feedback in the elaboration of our survey.
Our survey studies the following points:
- The current perception about the storing of sensitive information
- What is the impression of the sending of information through conventional means
- How the nationality influences the perception of digital and physical storing of information
- How the nationality influences the perception of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
To achieve the aims of the survey mentioned above, we planned to reach as many people as possible from different countries and different ages. By looking to previous surveys conducted for former iGEM Teams through the last years, we have found out that most of the surveys carried on by those iGEM Teams are mostly in English, thus their results would be limited exclusively to English-speakers; but, what about the people that use social media but they do not speak English? Or younger people that have started to learn the language, but do not understand enough to fill in a complete survey? Or what about older people who use social media but they only speak their native language?
CryptoGErM is also interested in their opinion! They are important for us!
We invited iGEM Teams to share the survey in their social media in order to achieve as many people as possible, ranging from different backgrounds, ages, nationalities. In addition to that, we collaborated with iGEM Teams around the world that translated the original survey to their native languages, with the intention to reach more people beyond those who speak English. In the following link, you can find the English and original version of the survey
English version
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScab-lnPrWpPJEFyyn-v4Gob_nn3rwFX0NumuuurUOmFkyLIA/viewformChinese version
https://docs.google.com/a/student.rug.nl/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMqse2NmiDSLbmSOHFxSTWecjKGyturI8OHvIJQ_wN5s5QMg/viewformSpanish version
https://docs.google.com/a/student.rug.nl/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIdkRSzFFWtjYb9VuESgXj0N2ialM7M-KDFkwTPCy6Q1X37g/viewformThe following map shows the nationalities of the participants involved in the present survey:
Firstly, we asked our survey respondents which is the most frequent method that they use to send sensitive information. As depicted in Graph 1, 89% of the people send information through digital means (Email, social media and instant messaging apps) Likely because of the speed and accessibility that these communication means provide to the user when compared against to physical sending (Regular Post).
In addition to that, 48% of the people who answered our survey trust sending their information through regular post and email, while 27% trust only in one of the two methods mentioned. 25% of the population do not trust sending information by any of the methods mentioned above. This is summarized in Graph 2
From the two questions above, we formulated an initial conclusion: Survey respondents USE and TRUST digital and physical means for sending of information.
However, what would happen if know they need to send highly secure information. Would they trust current and conventional methods such a letter in regular post or an email to exchange sensitive information? How would their initial conclusion change when the information to be sent changes from hardly secret to highly secret?
The answers to these questions are the first point of study of the study: What is the current perception in the sending of sensitive information?
We found out, by asking to our survey respondents if they would send highly-secret information by regular mail or email (Graph 3), that 46% of the population WOULD NOT TRUST sending such information through those conventional means (either by post or email) 39% commented that it would depended in the destination of the information. Survey respondents commented that places where the post service is efficient and trustable, they would consider it an option: however, in places where such systems are not completely efficient, they would not consider it as an option.
“89% of the survey respondents send information through digital means, but 46% would not do it if it is highly-secure information”
But such low trust is not limited to the physical means of sending. Actually it is more pronounced when regarding to the digital storing and sending of information. From the total of our survey respondents, 76% does not feel that the information on the internet is safe from digital espionage. (Graph 4)
“What is contrasting is that 89% of the survey respondents use digital means to send information, but 76% consider that such information is not safe from digital espionage”
Actually, according to our surveys respondents, private companies are the principal target from digital espionage (the aim of the digital espionage is to obtain information) and consequently of the theft of information (theft of information “occurs when attackers steal data with the aim of selling these data for commercial gain, to publish them or to abuse them for activist purposes”) As depicted in Graph 5, for our survey respondents, governments are the next most popular target of digital espionage, and citizens are the less popular sector affected for digital espionage and theft of information.
However, the reality is a little bit different when we compare these results with the data published from the Cyber Security Assessment Netherlands CSAN 2015 from the National Cyber Security Centre from the Ministry of Security and Justice from the Netherlands. For professional criminals, as the source of the threat, “there are clear developments which make the threat expedient” against private organisations and citizens, making these two sectors the principal targets of digital espionage and theft of information, In the case of Governments, either phenomena of threats have been observed or there are sufficient measures to remove the threat.
Since the aim of the digital espionage is to obtain and steal information from digital sources, we asked our survey respondents how they store their information. Surprisingly we found out that 57% of them store sensitive information either physically or digitally while the remaining 43% do not store it. Survey respondents commented here that they do not store them because they do not trust the digital storing because they are afraid of being hacked, and the physical storing is not used for those people because of the possibility to be stolen. (Graph 6)
Now that we know that almost half percent of our survey respondents do not store information because they are afraid of being hacked, we asked them if they would trust storing their sensitive information in bacteria.
As depicted in Graph 7, 43% of the survey respondents would trust to store information within bacteria, which shows that CryptoGErM could be used by citizens to store its information.
However, 26% of the survey respondents answered that they did not know what bacteria are, an outstanding amount. Such result of the survey motivated us to reach as much people as possible focusing our Human Practices in the promotion of synthetic biology and our project itself.
In consequence, the actions of the educational and outreach sections of CryptoGErM were focused to reduce the amount of people that do not what bacteria are, by promoting the knowledge of synthetic biology, iGEM and our project, through media, conferences, invitation to students to join our lab work and receiving students from High Schools for a lecture and Bio-ART, Painting with Bacteria!
Please consult our Educational and Outreach Section to discover our activities!
