Fifteenth International Conference on Technology, Knowledge & Society

Abstract

Use of mobile technologies the Internet of Things (IoT) takes control of people’s lives while performing essential life actions. The proliferation of IoT enabled devices and applications surge privacy and security risks. Recent studies and incidents in Qatar have shown that Qatar population are least concerned about their online privacy. This particular circumstance emphasizes the importance of educating Qatar population about the importance of privacy and possible vulnerabilities of information disclosure. Das and Khan (2015) argue that the security behavior of Qatar population is comparatively little and subjective to cost and efficacy security measures. Many studies explored the behavioral (Allam et al., 2014 & Mylonas et al., 2013) aspect of an individual’s data protection and associated literacy skills. Additionally, most studies recommended interventions such as workshop, information sessions, and country level restriction as the method of delivering privacy literacy education. There is very little research investigating information professional’s role in ensuring and educating user’s privacy. However, no similar studies found, in Qatar, comparing users against information professional’s attitude and perception in this topic. This project utilized interview as a data collection method to capture the information professional’s perception from the standpoint of a service provider. Those interviews collected information about the current practices and plans for privacy literacy. The study results may benefit both libraries and government organization to plan future awareness activities and events effectively.