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Locked iPhones rendered almost useless in Australia's COVIDSafe tracking efforts:
Software engineer Richard Nelson, who was part of a team of researchers that found other bugs in COVIDSafe, has detailed a bug affecting iPhone users, rendering their device basically useless when it comes to tracking efforts.
A locked iPhone with an expired ID cannot generate a new ID. Without an ID, Nelson said the device will record other devices around it, but cannot be recorded by others.
"A device in this state will record other people around it, but will not be recorded by others. If all relevant devices are in this state, no encounters are logged," he wrote.
"One could imagine Alice packing her bag, putting her iPhone in and going out for the day to a football game. With her device in this state, nobody else will record her presence, and if anyone around her tested positive she would not be contacted."
[...] Nelson told ZDNet that if the iPhone user was to unlock their phone, but not necessarily open the COVIDSafe app, a new ID would be fetched.
"If Alice's device was locked and had an expired token, and Alice then unlocks her device to check email, for example, and if Bob's device then scans and picks up Alice's device, Bob will be able to read Alice's ID," Nelson added.
But if the device is locked again first, it won't be read.
(Score: 3, Funny) by SomeGuy on Tuesday June 16 2020, @12:53PM (28 children)
Uh, iPhones are already useless :P
I forget which story it was, but there was a story the other day going on about how ONLY 3 states in the US were using cell phone contact tracing. In fact, that is 3 states too many using it.
This shit is useless, starting with the #1 bad assumption that EVERYONE HAS A FUCKING SMART PHONE! (followed by by the assumptions that they have it with them, it is on, yada, yada, yada)
Not everyone on this planet wants or needs a stupid smart phone. Despite popular belief perpetuated by advertising, it is possible to get along fine without.
(Score: 2, Troll) by leon_the_cat on Tuesday June 16 2020, @01:11PM (19 children)
IMHO the whole contact tracing app scene is a complete scam. Some people will get rich off it. I'm very doubtful about it actually helping.
(Score: 2, Flamebait) by c0lo on Tuesday June 16 2020, @01:26PM (17 children)
Done correctly, it may help and can't hurt.
Or, for you, if it's not Nirvana [wikipedia.org] is shit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @01:59PM (8 children)
>> ...and can't hurt.
It can't hurt until the government shows up at your door for attending a meeting of the wrong political party. You have three minute to pack your bags, please leave your valuables in this box on your way out.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:10PM
Then you didn't do the application the correct way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:11PM (2 children)
Good. Please let me know when that happens. Until then it may help and you're making shit up. Thanks.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:26PM (1 child)
Found the Democrat!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:45PM
Yeah, that rabid Democrat [vox.com] really fucked us over.
Idiot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:14PM
They're holding you wrong.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:41PM (2 children)
If that's a real concern for you*, move out of whatever shithole you live in.
*Criminal gangs [wikipedia.org] aren't political parties, so if that's what you're referring to, go get some more tattoos on your face, I'm sure you'll feel right at home in prison. I understand there's lots of violent, hate-filled extremists like you there. But hey, it's three hots and a cot, plus free clothes and healthcare. And you don't even need to rob banks or beat/kill darkies, jews and homos. Good times!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @04:05PM (1 child)
Adjust your medication.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @04:32PM
Are you suggesting that doing different drugs make me more tolerant of violent hate-filled thugs?
(Score: 3, Touché) by leon_the_cat on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:37PM (7 children)
"can't hurt" i disagree, I think it adds an extra layer of normality to government tracking.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday June 16 2020, @03:06PM (6 children)
Look on the source code [github.com] and come with arguments based on that.
Maybe, we'll then talk more about reality and less about paranoia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @04:07PM
Enjoy the ride down the slippery slope, sheep person.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Immerman on Tuesday June 16 2020, @04:35PM
If they can contact Alice when she's been exposed, rather than Alice having to check in the public "infected lists" to see for herself if she's recorded any contacts with people on it, then it's definitely mass-surveillance infrastructure.
And from a quick read into the particulars it sounds like that is indeed how it works. There are (supposedly) some institutional limits on who can access the tracking data, and it sounds like the implementation doesn't make it as useful for mass surveillance as it could be, but it absolutely can still be used for the purpose.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @06:36PM
aussies will do anything "the authorities" tell them to. sad state of affairs. i saw a gun review where the aussie reviewer said they have gun storage laws that state that one has to remove the bolt while storing a rifle. fucking pitiful.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 17 2020, @08:41AM (2 children)
How about giving an example of government helping me before I wade through some code that is useless to me ...
(Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Wednesday June 17 2020, @09:07AM
How about you don't move the goal posts and stick to a concrete proof that this app contributes to the "oh noes, the govt tracks me"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday June 17 2020, @09:10AM
Also, I hope that you are living in Australia, mate, I won't be bothered to search how the A/C's government is helping the A/C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @04:33PM
Yeah! Like all those billionaire "climate scientists."
(Score: 2) by lentilla on Tuesday June 16 2020, @01:34PM (3 children)
Everyone in Australia has a smartphone.
Apparently it's only 69% [wikipedia.org] but I don't believe that. You would really have to go out of your way to buy a non-smartphone.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Immerman on Tuesday June 16 2020, @04:46PM (2 children)
So nobody has land-lines anymore? Meanwhile here in the U.S. I know a whole lot of people who do in fact go out of their way to get non-smartphones, for any of several reasons including:
They're considerably cheaper both to buy and to operate (smartphone plans can easily cost several times more per month. I paid $4/month for years on my flip phone)
Their battery life is so much better it's not even funny (charge it every few weeks)
And they tend to work a LOT better as a phone - with better reception, better sound quality, and a more comfortable form factor.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by lentilla on Tuesday June 16 2020, @06:16PM (1 child)
Yes, landlines exist. Of course, households that have a landline also have a mobile for each adult and teen. As I alluded above, it would be considered highly unusual not to have a mobile, and also highly unusual for it not to be a smartphone.
The distribution is dependent of the age of householders and their location. Assuming we are talking urban population, the majority of householders over fifty-five will [also] have a landline. Household under the age of forty and it would be unusual to see a landline in use. In rural areas it depends on reception - but don't underestimate the value to a farmer being able to take a call whilst sitting in the tractor.
You mentioned cost as a factor. The government monopoly telecoms provider (Telstra) was privatised in the 1990s - but since they own most of the copper they effectively set the price for landline access. AUD$40 per month just for access. If you needed ADSL (Internet), that was on top of (or bundled with) landline access. So a large portion of urban Australians started the transition twenty years ago, especially those with access to cable Internet or "Naked DSL" (ADSL running over copper telephone lines without an attached telephone service), and particularly younger adults who moved every so often. Then came the National Broadband Network (NBN) which is in the process of kicking everyone off copper - and people are once again reassessing if the landline has any value.
I checked the latest Telstra catalogue that arrived in the letterbox this week, and of the twelve phones advertised there was one non-smartphone. For AUD$9. (!! OK, it's locked to the Telstra network, but just wow.) Or you could buy the entry-level smartphone for AUD$39. Unless you buy a flagship model the price of the access/calls quickly outweigh the cost of the handset.
Another little tidbit of Australiana in passing: "burner" phones don't exist unless you can find a patsy to register the number - when you get a telephone number it has to be tied to some official ID.
Calling costs were another consideration (remember that Australians only pay for originating the call, not for receiving). If you have an all-you-can-eat mobile plan (which most urban dweller under the age of fifty-five have) calling landlines or mobiles is essentially "free" (bundled into the monthly cost). On the other hand, calling a mobile from a landline can sting. So we end up with a odd pricing structure where it is cheaper to call a mobile on the other side of the planet (from a mobile) than it was to place a landline-to-landline call next door.
Unwanted calls to landlines were also a major pest prior to COVID. One could easily get five calls per day. They seem to have abated and the couple a week are now robocalls. "Why don't you check the CallerID?" I hear you ask! The answer: Telstra wanted another $120 per year for that privilege.
So yes, landlines exist, they just tend to take a back-seat to mobiles. Australians really did take to mobiles like ducks to water. The appearance of smartphones in 2007 happened overnight - at the beginning of the year you'd get on the bus and people would be reading newspapers and books. By the end of the year, every face was bathed in the ethereal glow of screens. Most younger urban Australians (that would be 86% [wikipedia.org] of the population) have had a mobile for the last two decades - and those young adults of the year 2000 aren't exactly that young any longer!
For what it is worth; single data-point and all; I know not one single person over the age of thirteen who does not have a smartphone. (I was the last hold-out. I stuck to my beloved hand-me-down Nokia 6300 candy bar until they turned the network off.)
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Acabatag on Tuesday June 16 2020, @07:19PM
I deal with farmers on the phone almost every day using their cell phone. OMG! Take those things away from them. It's common to not be able to make out a word they are saying.
(Score: 2, Touché) by c0lo on Tuesday June 16 2020, @01:35PM
Disagree. If it helps a bit and it doesn't hurt more than it helps then there is some value in using it.
Because it can't help each and everyone but only some, does it make it useless?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by AHuxley on Tuesday June 16 2020, @11:45PM
Thats why normal nations use the telco data sets.
If the device is connecting to a telco, its got time and location data.
No need for apps, OS, no need to code for some US consumer hardware brands OS.
Use the access any nation has to its own telco systems.
Do a Taiwan, South Korea.
Any device, OS gets location data kept.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday June 17 2020, @01:48AM
Even Amish people have smartphones these days. It's not that uncommon for young children to have smartphones. You make it sound like it's 1 in a thousand.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 27 2020, @05:03PM
Pretty much everyone does. The smart ones disable the sim and use open free wireless with a VPN
Good luck tracking them.