The Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that the new COVID-19 tracking app created by Apple and Google could be vulnerable to data harvesting that would be manipulated to shake confidence in the public health system. Developers have been warned by experts to exercise caution when using tech released by the two technology giants to build their own COVID-19 tracing apps.
The potential these types of apps hold for cybercriminal use poses a threat to privacy and user safety. However, the systems are also meant to help individuals know if they have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Therefore, the situation presents a set of unique challenges. The EFF states that there is no way to verify that the device distributing the contact tracing information is actually the one that generated it, allowing threat actors to potentially harvest the data and rebroadcast it.
Read More: EFF: Google, Apple’s Contact-Tracing System Open to Cyberattacks
