The Indian government is relying heavily on its contact tracing app, Aarogya Setu, to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on April 14, urged all citizens to download the app, it has crossed 50 million downloads. With the Aarogya Setu app already crossing 50 million downloads, it becomes necessary to understand its privacy and security risks.
MediaNama is hosting an online event today, that brings together three experts, who will discuss how secure Aarogya Setu is, and what can be done to improve its privacy and security. Attending this discussion is by invitation only. We have also curated a reading list.
Our Speakers
- Professors Subhashis Banerjee (IIT Delhi) and Bhaskaran Raman (IIT Bombay) who have authored the paper Apps for COVID: to do or not to do, along with Professor Subhodh Sharma
- Riddhi Shree (Security Analyst)
Date: April 17, 2020 (Friday)
Schedule:
- 02:00 PM – 2:15 PM: Check-in
- 02:15 PM – 2:45 PM: Panel on technical aspects of Aarogya Setu
- 02:45 PM – 03:30 PM: Q&A
- 03:30 PM – 04:00 PM: Checking in on everyone post discussion
Note: Participation in this discussion is by invitation only. If you’d like to be invited to the discussion, please fill up this form. We have limited space and application does not guarantee participation.
Reading list on contact tracing
- Aarogya Setu’s initial Privacy Policy and subsequent Terms of Use
- Aarogya Setu updated its privacy policy: All you need to know
- CoWin-20’s Privacy Policy
- Apps for COVID: to do or not to do, by Professors Subhashis Banerjee (IIT Delhi), Bhaskaran Raman (IIT Bombay) and Subhodh Sharma (IIT Delhi)
- The tech ‘solutions’ for coronavirus take the surveillance state to the next level – by Evgeny Morozov
- The Covid-19 Tracking App Won’t Work – By Cathy O’Neil
- Covid-19 contact tracing and privacy concerns – Brijesh Singh and Khushbu Jain
- Privacy prescriptions for technology interventions on Covid-19 in India, by Siddharth Deb of the Internet Freedom Foundation
- Safe Paths: A privacy-first approach to contact tracing – MIT Media Lab
- The Flawed World of Contact Tracing: Where’s Carol The Tester? – ASecuritySite
- FAQ: PM Asked to Download Aarogya Setu App, But Is It Mandatory?
- Bill in European Parliament demands transparency on contact tracing apps; lessons for Aarogya Setu
- Behind Aarogya Setu app push: ‘At least 50% people must download for impact’
- Survey of India’s app modified to complement Aarogya Setu
- Prasar Bharati employees must download Aarogya Setu
The reading list created by the Kaarana community is pretty useful. It is available here.
