Aarogya App is the official contact tracking App of India designed by the Government of India. The app is facing massive backlash, and recently, a researcher from MIT, who initially gave two points, has degraded the app and changed the rating to one.
According to the Times of India, the app which was given two points for collecting useful data and deleting data on time is now reviewed negatively. The reason for snatching away one point is “data minimisation,” i.e., the app extracts more than required data, which will hinder operations.
Before, the researcher at MIT, another French cybersecurity expert and hacker with the alias name “Elliot Alderson,” said the security of the app is weak, and the hacker will, “know who is infected, unwell, made a self-assessment in the area of his choice.” But, the app developer denied there is any security issue with the app.
“Alderson claimed that the app is allegedly exposing sensitive health data of millions of Indian citizens. This sensational came a few days after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi criticised the app and described it as a “complicated surveillance system.”
Whereas, Apple and Google have recently released Covid-19 tracing API that connects with other contact tracking apps made by other governments. What makes the API of Apple and Google better than the Aarogya app is that they use only Bluetooth technology, whereas the latter uses both Bluetooth and GPS location.
