Security News > 2021 > February > Researchers propose more secure and private mobile contact tracing

For public health officials, contact tracing remains critical to managing the spread of the coronavirus - particularly as it appears that variants of the virus could be more transmissible.

The need for widespread contact tracing at the start of the pandemic led tech giants Apple and Google to announce a plan to turn iOS and Android phones into mobile "Beacons" that alert users who opt in of potential exposure to COVID-19.

Health officials in some states have used the technology in their pandemic response efforts, as have other countries around the world, but researchers at the University of Notre Dame say contact tracing apps created by third-party developers could leave users vulnerable to a host of privacy and security issues.

"The purpose of contact tracing apps is to inform users of a potential of infection, to let them know if they've come in contact with someone who could have exposed them to COVID-19, but these apps release more information than is necessary - potentially, tracking data of COVID-19 patients - which could put the privacy of those patients at risk," said Aaron Striegel, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and affiliate member of the Wireless Institute at Notre Dame.

Designing an effective and secure framework for mobile contact tracing.

Striegel and Taeho Jung, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Notre Dame specializing in applied cryptography, are designing an effective and secure framework for mobile contact tracing.

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