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canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

Ross Anderson, a researcher at the Security Group at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, has written about contact tracing in the real world [lightbluetouchpaper.org] enummerating 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 [economist.com] being built by governments. Singapore has already deployed [tracetogether.gov.sg] and open-sourced [github.com] 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 [smh.com.au].

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.

Previously:
(2020) Apple and Google are Launching a Joint COVID-19 Tracing Tool for IOS and Android [soylentnews.org]
(2020) Senators Raise Privacy Questions About Google's COVID-19 Tracker [soylentnews.org]
(2014) How Nigeria Stopped Ebola [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission