COVID-19 Could Provide Cover for Surveillance Expansion

guest · Apr 7, 2020

Privacy & Digital-Rights Experts Worry Contact-Tracing Apps Lack Limits
April 7, 2020
https://www.darkreading.com/mobile/...ntact-tracing-apps-lack-limits/d/d-id/1337509

Striving to create better ways to keep people safe does not mean that people should give up privacy, says Matthew Siegel, a member and co-chair of the privacy and data security practice group at legal firm Cozen O'Connor.

"In the midst of a crisis, everyone is trying to do what they can to protect fellow citizens — we all want to do our part," he says. "The concern is that we have to make sure that whatever we do, it is limited to the time frame of the current crisis, and not come out on the other side of this and be horrified at what we have done."
Manual contact tracing is prone to missing potentially exposed people and is extremely slow. Using data from mobile applications can both speed contact tracing and lead to much greater accuracy.
However, contact tracing also has downsides.

In a post listing 10 requirements for a privacy-preserving contact-tracing app, the digital rights and hacking group Chaos Computer Club argued that only voluntary contact tracing will be effective, and for people to volunteer, privacy must be preserved.

"Organizational or legal hurdles against data access cannot be regarded as sufficient in the current social climate of state-of-emergency thinking and possible far-reaching exceptions to constitutional rights," the group stated.
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Already, companies and universities in the United States have used data to shed light on the spread of coronavirus.
The proliferation of such applications poses a danger to privacy if a sound legal and policy framework is not first developed, says Cozen O'Connor's Siegel.
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guest · Apr 7, 2020

South Africans are worried the government will use coronavirus phone tracking to spy on them
April 7, 2020
https://qz.com/africa/1834409/coronavirus-south-africans-are-worried-about-cellphone-privacy/

South Africa’s government has to had to assure citizens it won’t spy on them after news that it plans to use contact tracing as part of the Covid-19 management strategy.

Published in the Government Gazette on Mar. 26, the initial direction was criticized for being too vague, and consequently for possibly facilitating unorthodox surveillance.
The idea was to be able to use location-based services to easily find recent contacts of Covid-19 coronavirus patients in a bid to control the spread of the disease.

But being able to access people’s location and other personal information could potentially be an infringement of a citizen’s constitutional right to privacy in South Africa.
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South Korea’s handling of the epidemic is believed to be exemplary because they were quick to implement legislation that allowed health officials to aggressively trace the footsteps of citizens who test positive for an emerging infectious disease.

“South Africa has opted for a middle-ground approach to contact tracing,” says Livia Dyer, a partner at Bowmans law firm, .
The amended Disaster Management regulations recognize the right to privacy but asks citizens to make concessions until the state of emergency has passed, so that the right to life and health can be safeguarded.
Consequently, the Covid-19 Tracing Database, will be kept confidential.

There are however still concerns about government’s contact tracing strategy.
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guest · Apr 8, 2020

Turkey to track citizens via mobile phones to enforce quarantines
April 8, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...e-phones-to-enforce-quarantines-idUSKBN21Q1ZY

Turkey will monitor the mobile phones of those diagnosed with the new coronavirus to ensure they do not break quarantine, authorities said on Wednesday, marking the latest measure to stem an outbreak that has surged over the last month.

Turkey will start tracking citizens and send them a message and call them each time they leave their homes, the presidency’s Communications Directorate said.
They will be asked to return home and police will penalise those who continue to violate quarantine rules, it said, adding that Turkish law allows for processing of personal data without consent for “exceptional aims”.

The directorate said Turkey’s government will ensure that the personal data collected will not be used for any other aim.
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guest · Apr 8, 2020

Tested positive for coronavirus? Health workers may share your address with police
April 8, 2020
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...orkers-may-share-your-address-police-n1178696

In a growing number of cities and states, local governments are collecting the addresses of people who test positive for the coronavirus and sharing the lists with police and first responders.

Law enforcement officials say this information sharing — which is underway in Massachusetts, Alabama and Florida, and in select areas of North Carolina — will help keep officers and EMTs safe as they respond to calls at the homes of people who have been infected.
The first responders can take additional precautions in those cases to avoid being exposed to the virus, state health departments and local police officials say.

But some public health experts and privacy advocates have raised concerns about police departments maintaining a list of addresses of confirmed coronavirus cases. They say that it could make people reluctant to seek medical care or get tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, because of a fear of profiling by law enforcement.
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How address sharing works
On March 18, Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order making Massachusetts the first state to direct local boards of health to share the addresses of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus with police and paramedics.
If the responses indicate a risk, police may be instructed to take a report by phone (in the case of nonemergencies), wear protective equipment or meet the complainants outside.

Some agencies have gone further, asking — or demanding — local health authorities to share addresses of people who have tested positive or are in quarantine, even in cases where there's no statewide directive calling for information sharing.
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The Alameda County Public Health Department, which oversees Emeryville, disagrees that the information would be useful.

"Since COVID-19 is widely spread in our community, we worry that disclosure of the names and addresses of known COVID-19 cases would provide first responders with an incorrect assessment of where the risk lies and actually lead to reduced safety for our first responders," Neetu Balram, a spokeswoman for the department, said in an email.
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Dermot7 · Apr 9, 2020

by Karlin Lillington,

Could the use of tracking, health or distancing apps solve – or even just improve – the coronavirus situation in Ireland? Globally?

Such apps, in varying forms, have been in use in China, South Korea and Singapore for weeks now. The HSE has promised its own tracing or tracking app, though has not been very clear on what it will actually purport to do. More are popping up, often with no formal connection to any official project.

Many feel these will be a significant part of the toolbox as nations seek a slow return to, if not normality, then at least some freedom of movement, better containment of inevitable further Covid-19 outbreaks, and a reboot of economic activity.

And yet, little evidence exists that such apps help (in any other conformation than the prospective dystopian state setting). They may seem as if they should help – alerting us to areas of greater infection concentration, or sending off all our personal health readings, or determining “contacts” with extremely vague mobile location data.
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Why we should be slow to use tracking apps in coronavirus response

guest · Apr 10, 2020

Phone location data offers limited glimpse of virus spread, ACLU says
April 9, 2020
https://statescoop.com/phone-location-data-offers-limited-glimpse-of-virus-spread-aclu-says/

While federal, state and local governments have started analyzing mobile phone location data to track people’s movements as officials try to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, that information offers very limited insights into where the deadly illness might be on the move, according to a paper published Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Yet, the group went on to say, the collection of mobile data poses new privacy concerns.

While the mobile data being used in the United States can help track the public’s movements, the ACLU paper says it is not accurate enough to determine if people are, for example, maintaining social distancing guidelines of six feet.

“Numerous data entries over time can support an inference that a phone was near a particular location at a certain point in time,” the report states. “But the data is not precise enough to tell you how close two phones are to each other.”
“The potential for invasions of privacy, abuse, and stigmatization is enormous,” the report reads. “Because location tracking has such ominous potential implications, in short, we should make sure that any uses of such sensitive data are necessary, effective, and proportionate.”
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ACLU White Paper: "The Limits of Location Tracking in an Epidemic"
(PDF - 2.44 KB): https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/limits_of_location_tracking_in_an_epidemic.pdf

guest · Apr 10, 2020

Hovering police drones take Italians' temperature and issue fines
April 10, 2020
https://www.thelocal.it/20200410/hovering-police-drones-take-italians-temperature-and-issue-fines

A heat sensor takes the offender's temperature and sends the information to a drone operator, who stares at a thermal map on his hand-held screen -- shining orange and purple blobs.

"Violations of the regulations result in administrative and criminal penalties," the drone says.
But health officials fear this progress may be undone once people have had enough of life under lockdown and start coming out into the spring sunshine.

Copia says the local police force has received new powers that allow it to check people's temperature without their knowledge or permission.
"Everything is perfectly legal," the police commander said.
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'A privacy violation'
But the most heavily hit regions might choose to extend their lockdowns and the Bergamo drones may keep flying well into the summer months.
Some Italians have had enough of the buzzing machines and their heat maps.

"The use of drones might seem positive but in my opinion, it's a privacy violation," local student Carlotta Locatelli said.
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Minimalist · Apr 10, 2020

Location data brokers say they can help contain COVID-19. Here's why that's a problem

Location data brokers, who have long gathered the whereabouts of hundreds of millions of people for the purposes of delivering ads, are coming into the spotlight, suggesting that their data can be used to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. But privacy watchdogs, who have warned about the industry's practices, are skeptical, arguing that the location data collected is inaccurate and could cause more harm than good.
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https://www.cnet.com/news/location-...p-contain-covid-19-heres-why-thats-a-problem/

guest · Apr 10, 2020

hawki said: ↑

"[White House] team seeks national coronavirus surveillance system

Critics worry about a Patriot Act for health care, raising concerns about patient privacy and civil liberties... [...]
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/kushner-coronavirus-surveillance-174165
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White House Uses COVID-19 As A Reason To Create A Real-Time National Coronavirus Surveillance System
April 9, 2020
https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2020/04/white-house-uses-covid-19-as-reason-to.html

When is enough, enough? How many national surveillance systems does America need?

An article in Politico.com revealed how the national coronavirus surveillance system would allow federal authorities to see why someone is visiting their doctor and why they are in the hospital.
Giving government officials unfettered access to patients doctor's visits and what they are being treated for would destroy the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Using COVID-19 as an excuse to monitor hospital emergency rooms is disingenuous at best and misleading at worst.

"It would allow federal officials to continuously track elements like hospitals’ bed availability and the flow of patients into specific emergency rooms across the country — thereby enabling the government to rush resources to parts of the country before they’re hit by a surge of coronavirus cases."
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It is hard to put into words how disturbing the White House's plan is. Imagine serving up your entire life's medical history to a government that only seems interested in knowing everything about all of us.
Whether a national coronavirus surveillance system is run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only time will tell.

Creating a national coronavirus surveillance system run by the CDC which has a long history of working with the Department of Homeland Security is a no-brainer for the White House.
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Giving DHS the keys to Americans health records at the click of a button is a recipe for disaster. Not only will every hacker in the world try and gain access to them, but it will also open up a new form of public surveillance.
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Minimalist · Apr 11, 2020

How Apple and Google Are Enabling Covid-19 Contact-Tracing

Since Covid-19 began its spread across the world, technologists have proposed using so-called contact-tracing apps to track infections via smartphones. Now, Google and Apple are teaming up to give contact-tracers the ingredients to make that system possible—while in theory still preserving the privacy of those who use it.
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https://www.wired.com/story/apple-google-bluetooth-contact-tracing-covid-19/

guest · Apr 11, 2020

How you’ll use Apple and Google’s coronavirus tracking tool
There’s still a lot we don’t know
April 10, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/10/...irus-covid-19-contact-tracing-app-details-use

Earlier today, Apple and Google announced a Bluetooth-based COVID-19 contact tracing platform that could alert people if they’ve been exposed to the novel coronavirus.
The system will notify other users they’ve been close to, so those people can self-quarantine if necessary. Ideally, this means you won’t have to reveal your name, location, or other personal data.

Beyond those basics, though, there are a lot of questions about how people will actually use the system. Here’s what we know so far.
[...]
We also don’t know if individual government apps might ask for more invasive permissions like location tracking — even if Google and Apple’s core system doesn’t use it.
If you’ve got a phone without Bluetooth LE, of course, none of these apps will work.
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As we’ve said before, none of this replaces traditional contact tracing interviews. Done right, though, it could add a platform-level system that’s easy to use and doesn’t overly compromise privacy. We’re just still waiting on a lot of details about how that will work.
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guest · Apr 13, 2020

Apple, Google reportedly team with UK's NHS on COVID-19 tracing app
April 11, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/nhs-apple-google-covid-19-app-164752722.html

Apple and Google have said they’re working together on COVID-19 contact tracing, and that might just include collaboration with specific healthcare providers.
The Times sources claim the two tech companies are working with the UK’s National Health Service on an app to trace people who’ve come close to those infected with the new coronavirus.

A collaboration like this wouldn’t be surprising. Effective phone-based contact tracing requires both widespread use and collaboration with health authorities. However, the report could shed light on how that strategy will work in some countries — you may be asked (if not required) to install a government app instead of downloading a third-party title or switching on a system-level feature.
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Updated (April 12, 2020):

Update 4/12 2:30PM ET: Health secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed work on a contact tracing app, and that a pre-release version will be tested at a location in northern England next week. You can send a ‘yellow alert’ if you’ve self-diagnosed with COVID-19 symptoms and others pass by for extended periods, while people who’ve been tested as positive for the disease will send a ‘red alert’ urging people to go into self-isolation. You’d receive a verification code alongside your positive test result to make sure people couldn’t send false warnings.
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Dermot7 · Apr 12, 2020

Technology firms are processing large volumes of confidential UK patient information in a data-mining operation that is part of the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

Palantir, the US big data firm founded by the rightwing billionaire Peter Thiel, is working with Faculty, a British artificial intelligence startup, to consolidate government databases and help ministers and officials respond to the pandemic.
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UK government using confidential patient data in coronavirus response | World news | The Guardian

Minimalist · Apr 13, 2020

Coronavirus tracing apps don’t have to kill privacy to be effective

Decentralised tracing apps that use Bluetooth can stop people’s personal information being abused – here’s how
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https://www.wired.co.uk/article/coronavirus-tracing-apps-privacy

Dermot7 · Apr 13, 2020

Amos Toh, 04.12.2020 09:00 AM,
Judicious reliance on data-driven technologies in the current crisis can improve our understanding of the disease, broaden access to health care, and help us stay connected. But the impulse to harness data for good should not be a license to conduct risky experiments that sacrifice privacy and civil liberties without any clear payoff–harmful results that could persist well after the crisis is over.
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https://www.wired.com/story/big-data-could-undermine-the-covid-19-response/

guest · Apr 13, 2020

mood said: ↑

Tested positive for coronavirus? Health workers may share your address with police
April 8, 2020
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...orkers-may-share-your-address-police-n1178696
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Court Rules McHenry County Health Department Must Disclose COVID-19 Patients’ Names to 911 Dispatchers
April 13, 2020
https://www.hipaajournal.com/court-...e-covid-19-patients-names-to-911-dispatchers/

The McHenry County Health Department in Illinois has been refusing to provide the names of COVID-19 patients to 911 dispatchers to protect the privacy of patients, as is the case with patients that have contracted other infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) Privacy Rule permits disclosures of PHI to law enforcement officers, paramedics, and 911 dispatchers under certain circumstances [...] While the disclosures are permissible, the County Health department said on Friday it will not disclose that information as it violates the privacy of patients and creates a false sense of security for first responders [...]
On Friday evening, a temporary court order was issued requiring MCDH to disclose the information. In the ruling, it was explained that

“The availability of the names at issue best enables police officers to do their job and protect the community to the fullest extent of their ability.”
As a result of the court order, MCDH will start providing the names of patients, on request, but only to dispatchers on a call-by-call basis. MCDH has requested the “tightest control” of any information that is disclosed, to protect the privacy of its patients.
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guest · Apr 13, 2020

Congress Presses Kushner on COVID-19 Health Data Surveillance Project
...members of Congress are probing the effort due to privacy risks
April 13, 2020
https://healthitsecurity.com/news/c...-on-covid-19-health-data-surveillance-project

Several members of Congress are pressing White House Advisor Jared Kushner amid privacy concerns, after reports showed the White House has assembled technology and healthcare firms to develop an extensive COVID-19 surveillance system.

Led by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, the letter argues the White House may not have been completely transparent about its surveillance efforts. And as many of the reported participating organizations have “have a checkered history when it comes to protecting patient and user privacy,” the effort raises several privacy red flags.
A group of Senators recently sent an inquiry letter to Google to explain its privacy protections of the testing site.

“While we support greater efforts to track and combat the spread of COVID-19 – and have been alarmed by the notably delayed response to the crisis by this Administration – we have serious concerns with the secrecy of these efforts and their impact on the health privacy of all Americans,” the Congressional members wrote.
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To start, Congressional members want to know what the program is meant to accomplish, including whether it will be used to allocate resources, track symptoms, or trace COVID-19 contact, as well as the agency that will be assigned to operate the program and who will have access to the data.
Further, the Congressional members want to know what measures will be implemented to ensure health data is not misused or reused for non-pandemic-related purposes, [...]

“If not appropriately addressed, these issues could lead to a breakdown in public trust that could ultimately thwart successful public health surveillance initiatives. We encourage you to think seriously about these issues,” it continued.
The letter is just the latest Congressional effort to address privacy concerns that have come to light during the pandemic.
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Krusty · Apr 14, 2020

Coronavirus lockdowns could end in months if Australians are willing to have their movements monitored

The battle against coronavirus is going hi-tech, with Australians to be asked to download a phone app that will monitor their movements — but only with their express permission.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04...rnment-wants-australians-to-download/12148210

The Federal Government believes restrictions on the community could be eased in the months ahead if there's more testing, greater surveillance of those infected by the coronavirus and much faster tracing of those they've had contact with.

It is developing a mobile phone app with the private sector to help monitor Australians' daily interactions.

The ABC understands the app will be ready in a fortnight but the Government believes it would need at least 40 per cent of Australians to voluntarily sign up for it to be effective.

The app would be opt-in only and not mandatory.
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hawki · Apr 14, 2020

"Apple-Google 'Contact Tracing' System to Roll Out to iOS, Android Via Updates

If you want to opt into the system, you won't need to download an app. Both companies plan on rolling out the feature to iPhones and Android handsets via software updates in the coming months..."

https://www.pcmag.com/news/apple-go...system-to-roll-out-to-ios-android-via-updates

jpcummins · Apr 14, 2020

I don't remember, perhaps one of our forum members could enlighten me. If the COVID-19 Could Provide Cover for Domestic Surveillance Expansion did we face this same possibility during the 2009-10 (H1N1pdm09 virus) Swine Flu Pandemic? And, if so, what steps were taken then?

guest · Apr 14, 2020

NHS Denies #COVID19 App De-anonymization Plan
April 14, 2020
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/nhs-denies-covid19-app/

The United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) has refuted claims that it considered giving ministers the power to de-anonymize users of its planned COVID-19 contact-tracing app.

Plans to roll out the new smartphone app were announced on Sunday, April 12, by health secretary Matt Hancock during a daily UK pandemic briefing.
The new app is currently being developed by the NHSX—the digital innovation branch of the National Health Service—with testing of an early version expected to get under way in the North of England this week.

The NHSX has said that for the app to be effective, it will need to be adopted by more than 60% of the UK's 66.65 million inhabitants.
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Addressing privacy concerns over the contact-tracing app, Hancock said that it would be completely voluntary to use and that users would remain anonymous.

"All data will be handled according to the highest ethical and security standards and would only be used for NHS care and research," said Hancock.
However, a draft government memo produced in March and seen by The Guardian discusses how ministers might be given the ability to order “de-anonymization” of data collected via the app to identify people from their smartphones.

A spokesperson for NHSX denied there were ever plans to de-anonymize data.
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BriggsAndStratton · Apr 15, 2020

The Apple | Google API is just the first step to get us used to it. Then more things will come. They are actually going to be baking this into the OS itself. For now participation is voluntary... Time to learn to root.

reasonablePrivacy · Apr 15, 2020

jpcummins said: ↑

I don't remember, perhaps one of our forum members could enlighten me. If the COVID-19 Could Provide Cover for Domestic Surveillance Expansion did we face this same possibility during the 2009-10 (H1N1pdm09 virus) Swine Flu Pandemic? And, if so, what steps were taken then?
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First iPhone was released in 2007. First Android-powered smartphone was released in 2008. Simply put smartphone and mobile Internet usage and dependency wasn't that widespread.

guest · Apr 17, 2020

U.S. senator says Apple, Google need to show contact tracing will not violate privacy
April 15, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...racing-will-not-violate-privacy-idUSKCN21X32M

Smartphone software makers Alphabet’s Google and Apple will have to convince the public that any contact tracing technology to track who has been exposed to the new coronavirus will not lead to a violation of their privacy, Senator Richard Blumenthal said on Wednesday

“Apple and Google have a lot of work to do to convince a rightfully skeptical public that they are fully serious about the privacy and security of their contact tracing efforts,” he said in a statement.
This contact tracing effort got a boost recently when Google and Apple said they were collaborating on technology to help identify people who have crossed paths with a contagious person and alert them.

“I urgently want to know how Apple and Google will assure that consumers’ privacy interests are strongly balanced with the legitimate needs of public health officials during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Blumenthal, who has been outspoken about privacy issues raised by the powerful tech companies.
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Krusty · Apr 15, 2020

Convincing Australians to use government-sponsored coronavirus-tracing app a tough ask

We live in the world of big data. It's a world where governments and private companies know more about us than ever — and we've never been more suspicious of them.

While many are oblivious or uncaring of the data being amassed about them through every click of the mouse, every notification "liked" or every online purchase, some citizens fear an Orwellian future where state collection of information leads to repression.

And if it's not governments' use of that information that triggers suspicion, there's the omnipresence of tech giants who've become expert at monetising users' data.
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Should I download the coronavirus tracing app? Here's how to decide

At 5:30am yesterday my seven-year-old son and I took our golden retriever for a 5 kilometre stroll. While shivering, we passed runners, walkers and fellow pet lovers.

We've no way to know if any were infected with COVID-19, which is why we're walking so early and maintaining our social distancing.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks the Federal Government is going roll out a new phone app to trace COVID-19 victims' movements before they show symptoms.

The Federal Government wants to drastically improve its ability to trace those who are infected, and who they've been in contact with.

This contact tracing ability will provide the Government with a means to prevent and trace clusters of infection. It's amazing how the language of virology and pandemics has become increasingly part of our daily language.

All Australians are going to be asked to download and use the app: The Government needs about 40 per cent of us to participate to make this system work.

So, will you download the app?
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