Data underlying the research of VPN Mental Models Among Experts and Non-Experts in a Corporate Context

This dataset contains the summary of demographic information, anonymized semi-structured interview transcripts, and drawings resulting from our study on mental models or VPN technology among experts and non-experts in a professional service firm in the Netherlands. The interviews were conducted in June and July 2020. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eleven experts and seven non-experts. We also asked our participants to complete a drawing exercise to help participants to think aloud about how the VPN is organized and functions. Five interviews were conducted in English, and thirteen were in Dutch.<br>The interview questions were focused on the following topics:1) What a VPN is? 2) For what purpose a VPN is used? 3) What the technical infrastructure of a VPN looks like? 3) What the security benefits and/or risks of using a VPN are? 4) What changes occur in the threat landscape when using a VPN?5) What the impact of a possible attack could be when using a VPN.<br>This research project was reviewed and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Delft University of Technology (reference number: 55223).