Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Monday April 13 2020, @05:58PM   Printer-friendly
from the proximity:-opposite-sides-of-the-same-wall dept.

Ross Anderson, a researcher at the Security Group at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, has written about contact tracing in the real world enumerating in detail some of the many shortcomings with and false assumptions about contact tracing as means of fighting a pandemic.

There are also real systems being built by governments. Singapore has already deployed and open-sourced one that uses contact tracing based on bluetooth beacons. Most of the academic and tech industry proposals follow this strategy, as the “obvious” way to tell who’s been within a few metres of you and for how long. The UK’s National Health Service is working on one too, and I’m one of a group of people being consulted on the privacy and security.

But contact tracing in the real world is not quite as many of the academic and industry proposals assume.

First, it isn’t anonymous. Covid-19 is a notifiable disease so a doctor who diagnoses you must inform the public health authorities, and if they have the bandwidth they call you and ask who you’ve been in contact with. They then call your contacts in turn. It’s not about consent or anonymity, so much as being persuasive and having a good bedside manner.

He is not alone in pointing out that claims of being able to anonymize personal data have largely been proven to be bunk. The rules we set in place now will be with us for a long time and have far-reaching effects. The need to be given an appropriate level of consideration.

Security researcher Bruce Schneier posted his concerns on the same contract tracing story.

Previously:
(2020-04-11) Apple and Google are Launching a Joint COVID-19 Tracing Tool for IOS and Android
(2020-04-08) Senators Raise Privacy Questions About Google's COVID-19 Tracker
(2014-10-16) How Nigeria Stopped Ebola


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @10:46PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @10:46PM (#982275)

    Notice barbara hudson (tranny tom) won't go on its usual tons of posts suddenly? I do. "IT" has been silenced by fact in huge errors it made that it provided no less https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=33430&page=1&cid=889582#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   -1  
       Flamebait=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Flamebait' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   -1  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @11:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @11:06PM (#982290)

    Seek professional help, APK.