The UK Government is ditching the way its current coronavirus-tracing app works in favour of a secure decentralised model.
The BBC reports that the Government now intends to launch an app in the autumn, however it says the product may not involve contact tracing at that point.
A decentralised app will allow consumers across the UK to download the app without fears that their data could be exploited for secondary purposes.
Privacy advocates claim the new model, which will be based on technology provided by Apple and Google, is a win for digital privacy.
“A decentralised app will allow consumers across the UK to download the app without fears that their data could be exploited for secondary purposes,” says Ray Walsh, digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy.
“The good news is that the UK will now shift its efforts towards a secure app that gives people contact tracing as well as privacy.
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“It is a shame that it took so long for the NHS and the government to come to the same realisation privacy experts had months ago – that in order for an app to be effective it is going to need to be accepted by the general public.”
ProPrivacy has published a worldwide comparison of contact-tracing apps. Each app is given a privacy score out of 10. The UK’s solution currently scores 5/10, which will increase if they implement the decentralised method.
Derek Taylor, lead principal security consultant at cybersecurity vendor Trustwave also sees the move as positive.
“Between Google and Apple, they supply nearly all of the underlying mobile operating systems for the UK’s public mobile phones. As such, these organisations are most likely to be in the best position to design a solution that maximises functionality (including interoperability), provide strong security and data privacy, and to do so quickly – which they have.
“This means it is, arguably, easier for the public to trust the contact tracing solutions, without worrying about data privacy concerns of Government over-reach. It is this trust that will provide the foundation upon which to drive significant public adoption, which in turn is critical to a successful contact tracing scheme in helping minimise the impacts of the pandemic.”
