Measuring and Improving Security and Privacy on the Web: Case Studies with QR Codes, Third-Party Tracking, and Archives

Abstract

The web is deeply integrated into the economic, governmental, and social fabrics of our society, and it promises to help fulfill people's diverse and critical needs more easily, cheaper, faster, and more democratically. However, to fulfill this promise, we must study the security and privacy implications of the web and its surrounding technologies, and ensure that security and privacy are incorporated into their future evolution. In this dissertation, I present measurement and analysis work which studies the web and a set of the web's neighboring ``sister technologies'' -- QR codes and web archives -- forming insights and foundations for the ways that we can make the web more secure and privacy preserving. I identify and quantify current, past, and future properties of the web which are critical to its ability to provide security and privacy to its users, and synthesize lessons from these measurements and analyses which aim to guide the future designers and regulators of technologies surrounding the web in ensuring that it serves the needs of all who use it.