Harvard University has begun testing a contact tracing system that is designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus on campus this fall. Now, some experts are concerned that Harvard’s version of the tracking software will expose users to security breaches.
According to a report by the Crimson, Harvard is rolling out its contact tracing program that is designed to prevent the spread of Wuhan coronavirus on campus. The software notifies students on their smartphone if they came in close contact with another student or faculty member that has tested positive for the virus.
Breitbart News reported in July that all Harvard courses will be taught online for the 2020-21 academic year. However, approximately 40 percent of undergraduate students were invited to live on campus for the fall semester.
The software, called Tracefi, was developed by Professor Latanya A. Sweeney, who also serves as the director of Harvard’s Data Privacy Lab. Sweeney claims that her software will just be one of the several measures used by Harvard to prevent the spread of the virus on campus this fall.
“I started the Tracefi program with the same attitude I have today: can we make this work in a way that makes this community safe? That’s my only goal,” Sweeney told the Crimson. “Part of the reason Harvard brought some students back was the belief that we could do effective contact tracing, but contact tracing alone does not give us enough protection to stop outbreaks from happening that turn places like Currier into a cruise ship.”
Although Sweeney claims that her software cannot transmit personal data, some experts still have concerns. Tim Hwang, a researcher at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, is skeptical of contact tracing that operates over Wi-Fi. Hwang said that Wi-Fi-based tracking solutions are both inaccurate and vulnerable to security breaches.
“Wi-Fi-tracing uses radio signals to determine whether or not two people are proximate to one another. This is actually a sort of very inexact science,” Hwang explained. “Radio signals bounce off obstructions that can be easily distorted by buildings and other things.”
“The second issue is that it has been known in the computer security space for some time that Wi-Fi hotspots are notoriously vulnerable to cybersecurity problems,” Hwang added.
Breitbart News reported in May that Apple and Google had teamed up to developed a form of contact tracing that would operate over BlueTooth technology. The tech giants claimed that their version of the tracking software prioritizes user security by limiting device communications.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.
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