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<ul><li><keyword id="6280815" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="elliot-alderson">Elliot Alderson</keyword> has claimed that the <keyword id="8995296" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="aarogya-setu">Aarogya Setu</keyword> app allows users to find out who is sick in a particular area.</li><li>He has also contradicted the Aarogya Setu team’s claim that bulk calls to the API are not possible.</li></ul>A French ethical hacker who goes with the alias "Elliot Alderson" earlier claimed that he found security and privacy issues in India’s Covid-19 tracker app Arogya Setu. This was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/aarogya-setu-claims-its-app-is-secure-denies-privacy-breach/articleshow/75569270.cms">denied</a> by the Aarogya Setu team and they said that the app is secure. After this, Alderson has come up with a <a href="https://medium.com/@fs0c131y/aarogya-setu-the-story-of-a-failure-3a190a18e34">post</a> highlighting the issues found by him in the Aarogya Setu app. App allows users to access internal files In April, Alderson found that the WebViewActivity allowed users to access internal files of the app by using commands as there was no host validation. However, the issue has now been fixed. Aarogya Setu allows you to find out who is sick The next issue found by Alderson is that it is possible to modify the user’s location to find out who is sick in a particular area. While the app allows users to change the radius of the area between 500m, 1km, 2km, 5km or 10km, Alderson was able to change it to 100km. He added that this flaw could allow anyone to find out who is sick in a particular area. “Thanks to this endpoint an attacker can know who is infected anywhere in India, in the area of his choice. I can know if my neighbour is sick for example. Sounds like a privacy issue for me…” said Alderson. However, local governments have been publishing information about Covid-19 patients to alert the people who may have come in contact with them, so this may not be a very big issue. Alderson claims bulk calls to the API are possible The Aarogya Setu team in its earlier response to Alderson’s claims had said that bulk calls to the API are not possible as it is behind a Web Application firewall. However, Alderson has now claimed that bulk calls are possible, and he spent an entire day sending bulk calls. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/aarogya-setu-claims-its-app-is-secure-denies-privacy-breach/articleshow/75569270.cms">Aarogya Setu denies privacy breach, contradicts ethical hacker’s claims</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/stranded-indians-landing-in-country-will-have-to-register-for-covid-19-aarogya-setu-app-mha/articleshow/75554386.cms">Stranded Indians landing in country will have to register for COVID-19 'Aarogya Setu' app: MHA</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-smartphone-without-aarogya-setu-app-will-draw-punishment-for-user-in-gautam-buddh-nagar/articleshow/75540878.cms">COVID-19: Smartphone without 'Aarogya Setu' app will draw punishment for user in Gautam Buddh Nagar</a>

These are the privacy issues in Aarogya Setu, India's Covid-19 tracker app, alleged by French hacker Elliot Alderson

<ul><li>Three departments of the Indian government have been issued a show-cause notice to explain the development of India’s contact tracing app — <keyword id="8995296" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="aarogya-setu">Aarogya Setu</keyword>. </li><li>The <keyword id="6373306" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-informatics-centre">National Informatics Centre</keyword> (NIC), the <keyword id="3428254" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministry-of-electronics-and-information-technology">Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology</keyword> (MeitY), and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) have been asked to appear before the bench on November 24 by the Central Information Commission (CIC).</li><li>The NIC, in particular, as the app’s developer needs to explain how Aarogya Setu was created. </li></ul> India’s contact tracing app Aarogya Setu, which boasts of over 162 million downloads, is caught in the crosshairs of controversy again — this time over its origin story. A petition was filed by Saurav Das with the Central Information Commission (CIC) when three bodies within the government refused to answer Right to Information (RTI) requests asking about the creation of Aarogya Setu. “It is surprising that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) doesn’t have any information about Aarogya Setu since it is the app’s developer,” said the petition. The CIC, India’s transparency watchdog, has now served a show-cause notice to the three bodies — NIC, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) — to explain their role in the development of Aarogya Setu within the next two months. NIC, in particular, needs to explain how the <keyword id="8995298" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="aarogya-setu-app">Aarogya Setu app</keyword> was created. "None of the CPIOs were able to explain anything regarding who created the App, where are the files — and the same is extremely preposterous", said the CIC interim order. Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) of the departments have also been asked to appear before the bench on November 24 to explain why they should not be penalised under Section 20 of the RTI Act for obstruction of information. A copy of any and all supporting documents that may be relevant to the hearing should be submitted five days prior to the hearing. The government has issued a clarification stating, "Aarogya Setu was developed in a transparent manner in collaboration with industry and academia." <div type="twitter" handle="SetuAarogya" handlename="Aarogya Setu" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1246377580594266113/wMJonS1Z_normal.jpg" favoritecount="149" retweetcount="37" status="Clarification issued on Aarogya Setu App. Aarogya Setu App is a product of Government of India built in collaborati… https://t.co/8YUSBVAnSd" createdat="1603891530000" id="1321442970424410112"></div> Other troubling signs around Aarogya Setu French security researcher Robert Baptiste, who goes by Elliot Alderson on Twitter, first claimed that the Aarogya Setu app showed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-are-the-privacy-issues-in-aarogya-setu-indias-covid-19-tracker-app-alleged-by-french-hacker-elliot-alderson/articleshow/75592800.cms">security flaws</a> back in May. At the time, the government thanked him for his concern but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/aarogya-setu-claims-its-app-is-secure-denies-privacy-breach/articleshow/75569270.cms">dismissed the accusations</a>. They asserted that tracking the location of users is a documented feature of the app, not a flaw. As the reins around the app tightened, former Supreme Court judge Justice BN Srikrishna called the government’s move to make Aarogya Setu <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-smartphone-without-aarogya-setu-app-will-draw-punishment-for-user-in-gautam-buddh-nagar/articleshow/75540878.cms">mandatory</a> for all citizens ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/experts-explain-the-legal-and-moral-pitfalls-in-aarogya-setu-app-despite-the-governments-insistence-that-a-protocol-has-been-put-in-place/articleshow/75690239.cms">utterly illegal</a>.’ Another analysis by the renowned <a href="https://www.deccanchronicle.com/technology/in-other-news/270520/after-mit-tech-review-downgrades-aarogya-setu-rating-source-code-for.html">MIT Technology Review</a> gave Aargoya Setu only 2 out of 5 stars in its analysis of 25 contact tracing apps around the world. It highlighted that India is the only democracy that is making such an app mandatory. The rating was later <a href="https://www.deccanchronicle.com/technology/in-other-news/270520/after-mit-tech-review-downgrades-aarogya-setu-rating-source-code-for.html">further chopped</a> to just one star when the researchers discovered that the app was collecting more information than it needed to function. It was only after the review that MietY <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amid-privacy-concerns-centre-makes-aarogya-setu-app-open-source/articleshow/76011848.cms">released Aarogya Setu’s source code</a> on GitHub and initiated a ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/hacking-aarogya-setu-can-win-you-1-lakh-to-3-lakh-through-the-indian-governments-bug-bounty-programme/articleshow/76030048.cms">bug bounty program</a>’ for anyone who could find an issue with the app. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/building-blocks-of-life-discovered-in-titans-atmosphere-nasa-discovers-a-weird-molecule-on-saturns-largest-moon/articleshow/78909286.cms">Building blocks of life discovered in Titan’s atmosphere — NASA discovers a ‘weird’ molecule on Saturn’s largest moon</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/ajay-piramal-believes-that-if-banks-wont-lend-to-long-term-projects-india-will-need-to-revive-the-likes-of-idbi-and-ifci/articleshow/78906135.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Ajay Piramal believes that if banks won't lend to long-term projects, India will need to revive the likes of IDBI and IFCI</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/apophis-the-god-of-chaos-asteroid-is-speeding-up-increasing-the-likelihood-of-it-hitting-earth-in-2068/articleshow/78895818.cms">Apophis, the ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid is speeding up — increasing the likelihood of it hitting Earth in 2068</a>

India's contact tracing app Aarogya Setu comes under the scanner again — three departments fail to explain their role in its development

<ul><li>The Indian government has laid down the protocol for data collection in the <keyword id="8995296" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="aarogya-setu">Aarogya Setu</keyword> app, after it came under fire from experts and opposition parties.</li><li>According to the protocol, any data obtained through the Aarogya Setu app shall be anonymised, and it shall be permanently deleted after 180 days of collection.</li><li>However, experts suggest that the data collected should be routinely audited, monitored and supervised by other institutions, such as the Indian Parliament.</li></ul>India’s IT Ministry has passed an order to lay down the protocol for data collection in the Aarogya Setu app. However, security experts are of the opinion that these data collection practises should be monitored by the Indian Parliament. The order was passed on Monday, stating that the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the developer of the application, shall collect only such response data which is necessary and proportionate to formulate or implement appropriate health responses. Further, such data shall be used strictly for the purpose of formulating or implementing appropriate health responses and constantly improving such responses. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75592800" title="These are the privacy issues in Aarogya Setu, India's Covid-19 tracker app, alleged by French hacker Elliot Alderson" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> However, experts think data collected using the Aarogya Setu app needs to be routinely audited, monitored and supervised by other institutions, such as the Indian Parliament. “You want this surveillance to follow civilians without being monitored by the Parliament. You are shifting surveillance from counterterrorism to civilians. This shift must be routinely monitored, audited and supervised by the other institutions in the democratic regime,” Yuval Wollman, President, CyberProof, told Business Insider. From a cyber security perspective, Wollman said, “You want to make sure that you have the right protection in your application, equitable to the data being collected.” “It opens up the doors for the attackers – from a government’s perspective, you want to make sure that the agencies are taking the right protection as well,” he further added. “This also goes against the provisions of the IT Act and the proposed Personal Data Protection Bill as the app service provider would fall under the definition of an intermediary and (is) obligated to ensure the security of the data collected and (is) liable for loss of it under the intermediary guidelines,” Salman Waris, Partner at Tech Legis Advocates and Solicitors, told <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/legal-experts-point-out-liability-concerns-with-the-aarogya-setu-app/articleshow/75561944.cms">Economic Times</a>. Government protocol says data should be permanently deleted after 180 days The ‘Aarogya Setu Data Access and Knowledge Sharing Protocol, 2020’ states that the government should permanently delete the data after 180 days. Apart from that, the government has mandated that any response data accessed by an authorised body shall ordinarily not be shared with any third party. However, response data may be shared with such third parties only if it is strictly necessary to directly formulate or implement appropriate health responses, it added. Government mandates data anonymisation Further response data may be made available for research purposes by NIC in hard anonymised form. Hard anonymisation refers to a series of technical processes which ensure that any individual is incapable of being identified from the response data through any means reasonably likely to be used to identify such individual. This anonymisation shall be done in accordance with anonymisation protocols that are to be developed, reviewed and updated on a periodic basis by an expert committee appointed by the principal scientific advisor to the Government of India. "Such review shall have regard to the nature and sensitivity of the data being processed, the robustness of the anonymisation protocol and advances in technology. Response data which has undergone hard anonymisation, as under para 8(a), may be made available to Indian universities and research institutions / research entities registered in India," it said. Any violation of these directions may lead to penalties as per section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and other legal provisions as may be applicable, as per the protocol. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-are-the-privacy-issues-in-aarogya-setu-indias-covid-19-tracker-app-alleged-by-french-hacker-elliot-alderson/articleshow/75592800.cms">These are the privacy issues in Aarogya Setu, India's Covid-19 tracker app, alleged by French hacker Elliot Alderson</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/aarogya-setu-claims-its-app-is-secure-denies-privacy-breach/articleshow/75569270.cms">Aarogya Setu denies privacy breach, contradicts ethical hacker’s claims</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-contact-tracing-app-aarogya-setu-has-alerted-1-4-lakh-users-official-govt-mulls-making-it-mandatory-for-air-passengers/articleshow/75681015.cms">COVID-19 contact tracing app Aarogya Setu has alerted 1.4 lakh users: official; govt mulls making it mandatory for air passengers</a>

Experts explain the legal and moral pitfalls in Aarogya Setu app ⁠— despite the government’s insistence that a protocol has been put in place

<ul><li><keyword id="8995296" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="aarogya-setu">Aarogya Setu</keyword> has claimed that the Coronavirus tracking app is secure, and no privacy breaches have been found.</li><li>Elliot Alderson, an ethical hacker had claimed that he had found a security issue in the app.</li></ul>French ethical hacker who goes by the fictitious name Elliot Alderson <a href="https://twitter.com/fs0c131y/status/1257689150729392135">claimed</a> that there was a security issue in Aarogya Setu, the coronavirus tracking app launched by the Indian government. In his tweet, Elliot Alderson had claimed that a security issue has been found in the <keyword id="8995298" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="aarogya-setu-app">Aarogya Setu app</keyword> and that the privacy of over 90 million Indians was at risk. Soon after this, Alderson was contacted by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). After disclosing the issue to them, Alderson <a href="https://twitter.com/fs0c131y/status/1257709769097445388">said</a> that he would wait for the issue to be fixed before disclosing the gaps he discovered. However, the government has dismissed the claims. “No personal information of any user has been proven to be at risk by this ethical hacker. We are continuously testing and upgrading our systems. Team Aarogya Setu assures everyone that no data or security breach has been identified.” Aarogya Setu said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/SetuAarogya/status/1257755315614801921/photo/1">statement</a>. Alderson has <a href="https://twitter.com/fs0c131y/status/1257765023147085825">said</a> that he is not satisfied with Aarogya Setu’s response. Meanwhile, IT and telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/aarogya-data-safe-for-limited-period-prasad/articleshow/75564057.cms">said</a> that user data stored in Aarogya Setu for tracking the spread of COVID-19 will be deleted once the pandemic abates. Aarogya Setu claims there has been no privacy breach The first claim by Alderson was that the Aarogya Setu app is fetching the user’s location. To this, the Aarogya Setu team has responded that this is by design and has been mentioned in the app’s privacy policy. It further added that the user’s location information is stored on the server in a ‘secure, encrypted and anonymized manner’. Alderson also claimed that users can get the Covid-19 stats displayed on the home screen by using a script to change the radius and latitude-longitude. The team has claimed that the radius parameters are fixed and can take only one of the five specified values. While it is possible to change the latitude and longitude to get data for multiple locations, the Aarogya Setu team claims that it is not possible to make bulk calls to the API are not possible as it is behind a Web Application firewall. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/how-to/indian-government-launches-app-to-track-coronavirus-patients-called-aarogya-setu/articleshow/74949415.cms">How to download and use Aarogya Setu Coronavirus tracking app</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coronavirus-east-delhi-district-admin-asks-rwas-to-encourage-people-to-download-aarogya-setu-app/articleshow/75184894.cms">Coronavirus: East Delhi district admin asks RWAs to encourage people to download 'Aarogya Setu' app</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/covid-19-smartphone-without-aarogya-setu-app-will-draw-punishment-for-user-in-gautam-buddh-nagar/articleshow/75540878.cms">COVID-19: Smartphone without 'Aarogya Setu' app will draw punishment for user in Gautam Buddh Nagar</a>

Aarogya Setu denies privacy breach, contradicts ethical hacker’s claims

<ul><li>The Indian government has announced a ₹3 lakh bounty for anyone who can find a vulnerability with its COVID-19 tracking app, <keyword id="8995296" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="aarogya-setu">Aarogya Setu</keyword>. </li><li>You can also win a reward of ₹1 lakh if you make a valid suggestion for how the app can be improved. </li><li>Aarogya Setu’s open-source code is up for analysis on GitHub for developers to grab — and it’s a way for the government to lay to rest any privacy concerns that people may have. </li></ul>There’s a ₹1 lakh reward up for grabs for anyone who can find a valid way to improve the Indian government’s COVID-19 tracking app, Aarogya Setu. Another ₹3 lakh is up for grabs if someone can point out a security vulnerability. The government wants to lay to rest any acquisitions or claims about how the data its take from users’ phone can be misappropriated. The open-source code for the contact tracing app has been released on Github and developers are being encouraged to track down any loopholes that they can find — something that many privacy activists have been advocating ever since Aarogya Setu made its way into the limelight. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="76011848" title="Amid privacy concerns, Centre makes Aarogya Setu app open source" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The ‘bug bounty’ programme is open to Indians as well as foreign nationals. However, only Indians are eligible to claim the money reward offered under the scheme. “This is a unique thing to be done. No other government product anywhere in the world has been open-sourced at this scale,” announced Amitabh Kant, chief executive of NITI Aayog. The government has also promised that any updates to the app will also be made open-source through the same repository. The question of privacy The Indian government’s COVID-19 tracking app has repeatedly been under the lens during the lockdown. With Aarogya Setu asking for permission to access users’ data, people are concerned that they may be offering up more than they had bargained for — especially since the government of India made it mandatory for everyone to have it on their phones. “You want to make sure that you have the right protection in your application and that equitable data is being collected. It opens up the doors for attackers. From a government’s perspective, you want to make sure that the agencies are taking the right protection,” Yuval Wollman, the President of Cyberproof and former Director-General of Israeli Intelligence told Business Insider. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75569270" title="Aarogya Setu denies privacy breach, contradicts ethical hacker’s claims" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Aarogya Setu has had a tough go of it ever since Twitter’s famed Elliot Alderson — real name, Robert Baptiste — pointed out that there is a security issue with the app earlier this month. “The privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake,” he wrote. The makers of Aarogya Setu hit back saying, “No personal information of any user has been proven to be at risk by this ethical hacker. We are continuously testing and upgrading our systems.” “Developing countries, with their limited budgets and resources, need to consider the costs versus the outcomes in tracing exposed individuals in a privacy preserving way,” said <a href="https://medium.com/@rameshboston/going-open-source-for-aarogya-setu-will-help-covid19-efforts-and-drive-innovation-58f97042367c">Ramesh Raskar</a>, an MIT Media Lab professor. According to him, an app like Aarogya Setu runs the risk of exposing private data, which is especially risky considering the large data stores that a population like India has up for grabs. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/experts-explain-the-legal-and-moral-pitfalls-in-aarogya-setu-app-despite-the-governments-insistence-that-a-protocol-has-been-put-in-place/articleshow/75690239.cms">Experts explain the legal and moral pitfalls in Aarogya Setu app ⁠— despite the government’s insistence that a protocol has been put in place</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amid-privacy-concerns-centre-makes-aarogya-setu-app-open-source/articleshow/76011848.cms">Amid privacy concerns, Centre makes Aarogya Setu app open source</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/govt-likely-to-make-aarogya-setu-app-mandatory-for-flyers-post-lockdown/articleshow/75680125.cms">Govt likely to make Aarogya Setu app mandatory for flyers post lockdown</a>

Hacking Aarogya Setu can win you ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh through the Indian government’s ‘bug bounty’ programme

<ul><li>The platform, called Exposure Notification system, will allow public health authorities to build COVID-19 contact tracing apps without violating <keyword id="1491669" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="User-privacy">user privacy</keyword>. </li><li>So far, 23 countries have requested access to this system. <keyword id="6354427" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="apple">Apple</keyword> and <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword> hope that more countries will join soon. </li><li>In India, privacy activists have raised concerns about privacy breaches in the Aarogya Setu app. Adoption of this API could help address those concerns. </li></ul>Apple and Google have come together to launch COVID-19 contact tracing platform called Exposure Notification API. This will allow public health authorities around the world to launch COVID-19 contact tracing apps, allowing them to trace infected people while ensuring their privacy is not compromised. “Starting today, our Exposure Notifications technology is available to public health agencies on both iOS and Android. What we’ve built is not an app—rather public health agencies will incorporate the API into their own apps that people install,” Apple and Google <a href="https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/apple-google-exposure-notification-api-launches/">said</a> in a joint statement. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75690239" title="Experts explain the legal and moral pitfalls in Aarogya Setu app ⁠— despite the government’s insistence that a protocol has been put in place" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Public health authorities can use this system and build apps for their local population. So far, authorities in 23 countries have requested access to this application programming interface (API). “Each user gets to decide whether or not to opt-in to Exposure Notifications; the system does not collect or use location from the device; and if a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, it is up to them whether or not to report that in the public health app,” the two companies further added, addressing privacy concerns that some people may have. India’s stance on this API could help it address the concerns of privacy activists Privacy activists have voiced their concern about the Indian government’s data collection practices in the Aarogya Setu app. “You want this surveillance to follow civilians without being monitored by the Parliament. You are shifting surveillance from counterterrorism to civilians. This shift must be routinely monitored, audited and supervised by the other institutions in the democratic regime,” Yuval Wollman, President, CyberProof, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/experts-explain-the-legal-and-moral-pitfalls-in-aarogya-setu-app-despite-the-governments-insistence-that-a-protocol-has-been-put-in-place/articleshow/75690239.cms">told</a> Business Insider. The Indian government has mandated the use of Aarogya Setu for all employees, whether in the public or the private sector. In addition to this, travellers, delivery executives, people living in containment zones and more have been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/stranded-indians-landing-in-country-will-have-to-register-for-covid-19-aarogya-setu-app-mha/articleshow/75554386.cms">asked to download</a> and use Aarogya Setu compulsorily. If the Indian government shifts away from collecting data via its app, and relies on Apple and Google’s Exposure Notification system, it could address the concerns raised by privacy activists. Privacy activists point out privacy breaches in the app Earlier this month, French ethical hacker who goes by the name Elliot Alderson <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-are-the-privacy-issues-in-aarogya-setu-indias-covid-19-tracker-app-alleged-by-french-hacker-elliot-alderson/articleshow/75592800.cms">alleged a privacy breach</a> in the app. He posted his findings online and said that the Aarogya Setu app can be used to find out who is sick in a particular area. Apart from this, the app could also be tricked into allowing access to internal files on the user’s phone. This issue was fixed subsequently by the app’s developers. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-are-the-privacy-issues-in-aarogya-setu-indias-covid-19-tracker-app-alleged-by-french-hacker-elliot-alderson/articleshow/75592800.cms">These are the privacy issues in Aarogya Setu, India's Covid-19 tracker app, alleged by French hacker Elliot Alderson</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/aarogya-setu-claims-its-app-is-secure-denies-privacy-breach/articleshow/75569270.cms">Aarogya Setu denies privacy breach, contradicts ethical hacker’s claims</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/how-to/indian-government-launches-app-to-track-coronavirus-patients-called-aarogya-setu/articleshow/74949415.cms">How to download and use Aarogya Setu Coronavirus tracking app</a>

Apple and Google offer Indian authorities their new COVID-19 contact tracing platform

<ul><li>Koo, an Indian alternative to Twitter, is reportedly exposing personal data of users.</li><li>A French security researcher, Robert Baptiste (@fs0c131y), has posted his findings on Twitter.</li><li>Koo has found support from India’s Hindu right wing, railway minister Piyush Goyal, and PM Modi.</li><li>Baptiste has, in the past, exposed security flaws in the Aarogya Setu app.</li></ul><keyword id="9550495" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Koo-App">Koo app</keyword> is reportedly exposing personal data of users, according to a French security researcher. Koo is a desi alternative to Twitter and allows its users to post short messages just like Twitter. According to Robert Baptiste who goes by the pseudonym Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y), Koo is exposing sensitive user information like email address, date of birth, gender and marital status. Baptiste has, in the past, exposed flaws in various government apps and websites, including the government-mandated <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-are-the-privacy-issues-in-aarogya-setu-indias-covid-19-tracker-app-alleged-by-french-hacker-elliot-alderson/articleshow/75592800.cms">Aarogya Setu app</a>, which the Indian authorities have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/aarogya-setu-claims-its-app-is-secure-denies-privacy-breach/articleshow/75569270.cms">vehemently refuted.</a> He posted his findings on Twitter, including screenshots of the code he analyzed. <div type="twitter" handle="fs0c131y" handlename="Elliot Alderson" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/991657715192750081/tQymlTdJ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7385" retweetcount="3592" status="You asked so I did it. I spent 30 min on this new Koo app. The app is leaking of the personal data of his users: em… https://t.co/bwYznLDlv5" createdat="1612982634000" id="1359573825579548674"></div> According to him, Koo has a domain registered in the US, but the registrant of the domain is based in China. The founders recently admitted to having a Chinese investor who, they <a href="https://twitter.com/aprameya/status/1359501894779953158">said</a>, would be bought out. We have reached out to Koo for a comment on the matter and will update the story with their statement when we receive it. Koo’s co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna took to Twitter to downplay the ‘leak’. <div type="twitter" handle="aprameya" handlename="Aprameya R" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/772832843982475265/NX-Wj-Mo_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1258" retweetcount="309" status="Some news about data leaking being spoken about unnecessarily. Please read this:The data visible is something tha… https://t.co/UgDtCnvNUH" createdat="1613026723000" id="1359758747405438977"></div> Koo is being backed by Indian ministers as an alternative to Twitter Koo has gained popularity of late after India’s ministers and pro-government activists started a #BanTwitter campaign on Twitter. They also started promoting Koo, which also saw Indian ministers like Piyush Goyal chip in with a tweet nudging his followers to join him on the app. <div type="twitter" handle="PiyushGoyal" handlename="Piyush Goyal" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1242114357682515971/x6zWYqzZ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="13495" retweetcount="3693" status="I am now on Koo. Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting and exclusive upd… https://t.co/L09sLRtzDM" createdat="1612859791000" id="1359058583934013442"></div> Prime Minister Narendra Modi also promoted Koo in one of his monthly addresses to the people. The app also won the government’s Digital India AtmaNirbhar Bharat Innovate Challenge in 2020. The 10-month-old app has over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitter-indian-rival-koo-has-crossed-3-million-downloads-as-ministers-and-actors-got-down-to-promoting-it-the-founders-are-ecstatic/articleshow/80788087.cms">3 million downloads</a> now, registering 10x growth since December, 2020. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitter-indian-rival-koo-has-crossed-3-million-downloads-as-ministers-and-actors-got-down-to-promoting-it-the-founders-are-ecstatic/articleshow/80788087.cms">Twitter’s Indian rival Koo has crossed 3 million downloads as ministers and actors got down to promoting it⁠— the founders are ecstatic</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/what-happens-if-the-government-bans-cryptocurrencies-should-i-sell-bitcoin-checkout-experts-views/articleshow/80782941.cms">“Should I sell my cryptocurrencies?” and other questions answered on India’s proposed Crypto Ban bill</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-is-considering-four-day-work-weeks-but-with-longer-hours/articleshow/80763247.cms">India is considering four-day work weeks but with longer shifts</a>

French security researcher claims Twitter's desi rival Koo is 'leaking' personal data of users

New Delhi, May 6 () Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday expressed concern over high fatality rate among COVID-19 patients in some districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat, asking the two states to focus on early surveillance and aggressive contact tracing.The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,694 and the number of cases climbed to 49,391 across the country on Wednesday, registering an increase of 126 deaths and 2,958 cases in the last 24 hours since 8 am on Tuesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 33, 514 while a total of 14,183 people have recuperated in the country so far. "In the last 24 hours, 1,457 patients have recovered, taking the total recovery rate to 28.72 per cent," the ministry said.According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 12,76,781 samples have been tested as on May 6 till 9 am.Considering the possibility of increase in cases of novel coronavirus infections, the ministry has decided to use Railway coaches as COVID Care Centres for suspected or confirmed cases categorized as mild or very mild cases. The health ministry had on Tuesday said the nationwide COVID-19 case status will be updated on its website only once a day in the morning instead of twice a day as was being done previously. Vardhan held a high-level meeting with Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Nitinbhai Patel and Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope as the states reported 368 and 617 COVID-19 fatalities respectively.In the meeting, Vardhan stressed on the need for proper interventions like screening and testing of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and Influenza Like Illness (ILI) cases as this may prevent spread of infection in other areas."Implementation of effective containment strategy needs to be on the top priority of the states to reduce the mortality rate. It is the need of the hour to take preventive, pre-emptive and comprehensive measures in a systematic manner and follow the protocols laid down by the Centre to prevent occurrence of fresh cases," he said.It was pointed out that in some cases, the patients either suppressed the information of their infection or reported late to the hospitals for treatment, which may be indicative of some fear or stigma associated with COVID-19.The Union minister urged the states to ensure that persons aged more than 65 years and having any non-communicable disease are screened on priority in the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centers.Vardan also pointed out that in compliance of the guidelines issued by the Centre, non-COVID-19 essential health services such as antenatal care, immunisation drives, tuberculosis case finding and treatment, providing blood transfusion for dialysis patients, treatment of cancer patients among others should not be neglected.Meanwhile, the ministry said Aarogy Setu Interactive Voice Response System has been implemented for the people having feature phones or landlines while urging citizens to download the mobile application, noting that it will enable them to assess the risk of their catching the novel coronavirus infection.Close to nine crore users have downloaded the Aarogya Setu mobile application so far, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was informed on Tuesday.The 'Aarogy Setu Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)' is a toll-free service, available across the country, wherein citizens can give a missed call to the number '1921' and they will get a call back requesting for inputs regarding their health.The questions asked are aligned with Aarogy Setu App, and based on the responses given. Citizens will also get an SMS indicating their health status and further alerts for improving their health, the ministry said."All the citizens are urged to download the mobile application. This is designed to keep a user informed, in case she/he crosspaths with someone who has tested positive," a health ministry statement said.The Centre meanwhile rejected charges by the opposition that the application breached privacy.Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted that the platform is "absolutely robust, safe and secure" in terms of privacy protection and data security.The response came after a French hacker and cyber security expert Elliot Alderson on Tuesday claimed that "a security issue has been found" in the Aarogya Setu app and that "privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake".The Centre had on Friday made it mandatory for government and private sector employees to use Aarogya Setu mobile application to bolster the efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, and entrusted the organisational heads with ensuring its 100 per cent coverage.According to the ministry data,of the total fatalities, Maharashtra tops tally with 617 fatalities, Gujarat comes second with 368 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 176, West Bengal at 140, Rajasthan at 89, Delhi at 64, Uttar Pradesh at 56 and Andhra Pradesh at 36.The death toll reached 33 in Tamil Nadu, 29 in Telengana, while Karnataka has reported 29 fatalities due to the respiratory disease. Punjab has registered 25 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir eight, Haryana six and Kerala and Bihar have reported four deaths each.Jharkhand has recorded three COVID-19 fatalities. Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Uttarakhand have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data. PLB ASK TDSTDS

You Searched For "aarogya setu elliot alderson" and got 8 results

These are the privacy issues in Aarogya Setu, India's Covid-19 tracker app, alleged by French hacker Elliot Alderson

Rounak Jain

India's contact tracing app Aarogya Setu comes under the scanner again — three departments fail to explain their role in its development

Prabhjote Gill

Experts explain the legal and moral pitfalls in Aarogya Setu app ⁠— despite the government’s insistence that a protocol has been put in place

Rounak Jain

Aarogya Setu denies privacy breach, contradicts ethical hacker’s claims

Rounak Jain

Hacking Aarogya Setu can win you ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh through the Indian government’s ‘bug bounty’ programme

Prabhjote Gill

Apple and Google offer Indian authorities their new COVID-19 contact tracing platform

Rounak Jain

French security researcher claims Twitter's desi rival Koo is 'leaking' personal data of users

Rounak Jain

Vardhan expresses concern over high fatality rate among COVID-19 patients in Maha, Guj

PTI

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