Dr. Zikai Alex Wen

Dr. Zikai Alex Wen

HCI & Privacy/Security

Hi there! I am a human-computer interaction (HCI) researcher specializing in usable privacy and security. As privacy and security technologies advance, they often prioritize automation. This leaves users passively accepting protection measures they neither fully understand nor can verify. I believe that user autonomy should be fundamental to privacy and security management in today’s complex cyberspace, with technology as a supporting tool. My research advances user autonomy principles through three core pillars: 1) designing evidence-based digital safety educational games, 2) developing human-centered defenses against AI-enabled threats, and 3) enabling informed decisions with appropriate AI support. My research has been published in leading venues including ACM CHI, IEEE S&P, and Information Sciences.

I am a postdoc in the Computer Science Department at Virginia Tech, working with Prof. Yaxing Yao. I am fortunate to have worked as a postdoc at HKUST VIS Lab, following my Ph.D. in computer science from Cornell University (2021). Before that, I recieved my joint first-class honours bachelor degrees in computer science from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K. and BUCT, Beijing, China.

🔥 News

📝 Selected Publications

ISCI Journal
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The Influence of Explanation Designs on User Understanding Differential Privacy and Making Data-Sharing Decision in Information Sciences, Sep. 2023.

Authors: Zikai Alex Wen, Jingyu Jia, Hongyang Yan, Yaxing Yao, Zheli Liu, Changyu Dong

Highlights: Our explanatory illustration design simplifies the understanding of differential privacy protection of numerical data. A survey of 228 people shows visual illustration outperformed text-based explanation in understanding differential privacy. Learning about privacy-enhancing technology does not necessarily increase the willingness to share data.

CHI'19
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What.Hack: Engaging Anti-Phishing Training Through a Role-Playing Phishing Simulation Game in the proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2019.

Authors: Zikai Alex Wen, Zhiqiu Lin, Rowena Chen, Erik Andersen

Highlights: People being phished is due in part to insufficient and tiresome user training in cybersecurity. we designed the game What.Hack, which not only teaches phishing concepts but also simulates actual phishing attacks in a role-playing game to encourage the player to practice defending themselves.

Pointer: Game

📖 Full Publications

Symbol * indicates that I am the (co-)corresponding author. My current citation status is:

Venue Title Author(s) Theme(s)
ISCI Journal DPGazeSynth: Enhancing Eye-Tracking Virtual Reality Privacy With Differentially Private Data Synthesis Xiaojun Ren, Jiluan Fan, Ning Xu, Shaowei Wang, Changyu Dong, Zikai Wen* Privacy
VLDB’24 Privacy Amplification via Shuffling: Unified, Simplified, and Tightened Shaowei Wang, Yun Peng, Jin Li, Zikai Wen, Zhipeng Li, Shiyu Yu, Di Wang, Wei Yang Privacy
AIS&P’23 Email Reading Behavior-Informed Machine Learning Model to Predict Phishing Susceptibility Ning Xu, Jiluan Fan, Zikai Wen* Security
ISCI Journal The Influence of Explanation Designs on User Understanding Differential Privacy and Making Data-Sharing Decision Zikai Alex Wen, Jingyu Jia, Hongyang Yan, Yaxing Yao, Zheli Liu, Changyu Dong Privacy
CHI Play EA’22 CollectiAR: Computer Vision-Based Word Hunt for Children with Dyslexia Danlu Fei, Ze Gao, Linping Yuan, Zikai Alex Wen* EdTech, Gaming
IEEE GEM’22 What Features Influence Impact Feel? A Study of Impact Feedback in Action Games Zhonghao Lin, Haihan Duan, Zikai Alex Wen, Wei Cai Gaming
IEEE GEM’22 Understanding the Challenges of Team-Based Live Streaming for First-Person Shooter Games Jiaye Li, Minghao Li, Zikai Alex Wen, Wei Cai Gaming
ASSETS EA’21 An Intelligent Math E-Tutoring System for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities Zikai Alex Wen, Yuhang Zhao, Erica Silverstein, Shiri Azenkot EdTech, Gaming
ASSETS’20 Teacher Views of Math E-Learning Tools for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities Zikai Alex Wen, Erica O Silverstein, Yuhang Zhao, Anjelika Lynne S Amog, Katherine Garnett, Shiri Azenkot EdTech
ASSETS EA’19 Teacher Perspectives on Math E-Learning Tools for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities Zikai Alex Wen, Anjelika Lynne S Amog, Shiri Azenkot, Katherine Garnett EdTech
CHI’19 What.Hack: Engaging Anti-Phishing Training Through a Role-Playing Cyber Defense Simulation Game Zikai Alex Wen, Zhiqiu Lin, Rowena Chen, Erik Andersen Security, EdTech, Gaming
CHI EA’17 What.Hack: Learn Phishing Email Defence the Fun Way Zikai Alex Wen*, Yiming Li, Reid Wade, Jeffrey Huang, Amy Wang Security, EdTech, Gaming
S&P’16 Hawk: The Blockchain Model of Cryptography and Privacy-Preserving Smart Contracts Ahmed Kosba, Andrew Miller, Elaine Shi, Zikai Wen, Charalampos Papamanthou Privacy
SAC’14 Efficient Protocols for Private Record Linkage Zikai Wen, Changyu Dong Privacy
CCS’13 When Private Set Intersection Meets Big Data: an Efficient and Scalable Protocol Changyu Dong, Liqun Chen, Zikai Wen Privacy

🎖 Awards and Grants