Coronavirus Tracing Apps Conflict With Privacy

Smartphone apps designed to trace people at risk of Covid-19 infection have attracting criticism in Europe and the US for their potential as surveillance and spying tools to be used by governments.  

Scientists and researchers from more than 25 countries have published an open letter urging governments not to abuse such technology to spy on their people and warning of risks in an approach championed by Germany.

More than a hundreds of the British researchers and scientists have expressed concern over privacy and security resulting from 'mission creep' as the UK's government plans for using smartphones to trace and combat coronavirus slowly get going.

Much of our pre-coronavirus lives may be reclaimable with some modifications around how we work, socialise and travel, however in one crucial way the post-pandemic landscape will be very different as an individual’s autonomy and data privacy may be lost as mobile telephones are used for surveillance.

This will have important consequences for the relationship not just between citizens and governments, but also between consumers and businesses.

The risk of the coming end of privacy is attributable to the success of virus tracing apps in South Korea and Taiwan which have both been effective in flattening the Covid-19 curve by digitally tracking infected persons. No government was using dispersed databases as extensively to fight the spread of the disease as South Korea. Before an explosive outbreak in its worker dormitories, Singapore earned praise for TraceTogether, which claims to be the first Bluetooth contact-tracing app covering an entire nation. The 1.4 million users represent roughly a fourth of the island’s population.

Governments want access to phones, with or without informed consent and turning the clock back will be difficult, if not impossible. Where boundaries between private and public are thin to begin with, a pandemic can make them disappear. 

There have been assurances from various governments, including those in France, India and Singapore, that tracing  Apps will go away once the outbreak is contained, but no legal guarantees.  

  • The Singaporean app records physical proximity in an anonymised form on smartphones. Minimal data is stored on servers. The national TraceTogether’s App building blocks are in the public domain although he source code of  is yet to be disclosed.
  • As India reopens after a 43-day lockdown, it’s mandatory, first for public-sector employees and now for private-sector workers and company bosses are liable to ensure their workers download the app, though nobody is accountable for misuse of data.  The Indian government recently denied a French security researcher’s claim that the privacy of ninety million Indians is at stake. 

An analysis of China’s Alipay Health Code software, which uses various data sources of data to categorise a person’s health status with a colour code, found that some information is shared with the police.

One consequence of Covid-19 will be to erode privacy in the name of public health. European data protection laws will try to ensure that the emergency collection and processing of personal information is legally accountable and for a limited purpose but the British parliament’s human rights committee says it isn’t convinced that the National Health Service’s tracing App protects privacy.

Where they exist, robust institutions could will offer resistance to surveillance but  in many places the individual’s autonomy has already become a virus casualty. Poorer countries where consumers have only recently started going online will see states insist on devices that come with pre-loaded tracking apps. 

Whether sensitive data will be kept safely on devices or stored on a central server in a way that might allow a bad actor to reconstruct a person’s social activity, keeping a record of where they have been and when and who they meet. will become an urgent question as efforts to control the Coronavirus extend around the world.  

Bloomberg:      ZDNet:     SCMP:       LA Times:   

You Might Also Read: 

Incompatible: Privacy & The Internet of Things:

Coronavirus Track & Trace Apps On A Deadline:

 

« Hacked Vehicle Owner Database For Sale
Vehicle Cyber Crime Attacks Double »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

Cyber Security Supplier Directory

Cyber Security Supplier Directory

Our Supplier Directory lists 6,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

it-sa 365

it-sa 365

it-sa 365 is a digital platform for connecting IT security vendors and experts with those who bear responsibility for IT security in management and technology.

Paramount Computer Systems

Paramount Computer Systems

Paramount is a regional leader in the Middle East for cybersecurity solutions and consulting services.

CERT-UA

CERT-UA

CERT-UA is the national Computer Emergency Response Team for Ukraine.

InnoSec

InnoSec

InnoSec is a software manufacturer of cyber risk management technology.

H-11 Digital Forensics

H-11 Digital Forensics

H-11 Digital Forensics is a global leader of digital forensic technology.

T-REX

T-REX

T-REX is a coworking space, technology incubator, and entrepreneur resource center for technology startups.

MassMutual Ventures

MassMutual Ventures

Mass Mutual ventures backs companies building category-defining businesses in markets including enterprise software, digital health, cybersecurity, and fintech.

K2 Cyber Security

K2 Cyber Security

K2 Cyber Security delivers the Next Generation Application Workload Protection Platform to secure web applications and container workloads against sophisticated attacks.

LTIMindtree

LTIMindtree

LTIMindtree is a new kind of technology consulting firm. We help businesses transform – from core to experience – to thrive in the marketplace of the future.

StateRAMP

StateRAMP

StateRAMP reduces risk from unsecure cloud solutions and protects data by providing State and local governments a standardized approach for verifying and monitoring security postures.

US Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER)

US Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER)

US Army’s Cyber Command (ARCYBER) is engaged in the real-world cyberspace fight today, against near-peer adversaries, ISIS, and other global cyber threats.

MyCISO

MyCISO

MyCISO is the World’s first SaaS application that will vastly simplify security management for all.

Timus Networks

Timus Networks

Timus Networks enables today's work from anywhere organizations to secure their networks very easily and cost effectively.

VLC Solutions

VLC Solutions

VLC Solutions is an independent solutions and technology service provider offering Cloud Services, Cybersecurity, ERP Services, Network Management Services, and Compliance Solutions.

Mobb

Mobb

Mobb's AI-powered technology automates vulnerability remediations to significantly reduce security backlogs and free developers to focus on innovation.

HIFENCE

HIFENCE

HIFENCE delivers cybersecurity and networking services that make your company safer and more secure. That’s all we do, so you can concentrate on all the things that you do best.