Developers' Privacy Education: A game framework to stimulate secure coding behaviour

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel game framework designed to train developers in secure coding practices to enhance software privacy and prevent data breaches.

Contribution

It proposes a new game-based training framework and empirically evaluates its effectiveness in improving developers' privacy-preserving coding behavior.

Findings

Identified key elements for effective game design in privacy training

The framework improves developers' secure coding practices

Enhanced awareness of privacy issues among developers

Abstract

Software privacy provides the ability to limit data access to unauthorized parties. Privacy is achieved through different means, such as implementing GDPR into software applications. However, previous research revealed that the lack of poor coding behaviour leads to privacy breaches such as personal data breaching. Therefore, this research proposes a novel game framework as a training intervention enabling developers to implement privacy-preserving software systems. The proposed framework was empirically investigated through a survey study (with some exit questions), which revealed the elements that should be addressed in the game design framework. The developed game framework enhances developers' secure coding behaviour to improve the privacy of the software they develop.