The coronavirus pandemic has now spread to many countries and each country is making its own efforts to contain the new virus that originated in China. One thing has become clear, that the spread of the virus cannot be spread unless a vaccine is developed. Another important lesson the pandemic has given everyone is the importance of contact tracing. When a person is infected with the virus, then it is very important to trace the contacts and quarantine or get that particular group checked for the virus. Amidst the efforts of contact tracing, there are also applications that are being used and they could potentially pose a risk to privacy and security but helps to limit the spread of the virus.
Contact tracing can be done by interviewing people about who they met in the past one week and where they had been. But bin this process there could be errors as it is mainly based on memory, detective work and interviews. Contact tracing has to be done on a larger scale which is the need of time now. For appropriate results, it is essential to use cellphones that helps to detect and record the proximity. The government of Canada is looking towards contact tracing system and it was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed that all the options are available on the table. This would mean a privacy and security infringement and the government is aware of the consequences.
So before a solid decision is made, the government of Canada will have to think about the concessions that it could give in consideration. It is only the crisis time that is used by the governments and corporations that would result in an infringement of civil liberties of the citizens.
Different nations are applying different techniques to contain the virus with the help of different technologies. This might lead to a few privacy infringement but would be effective on containing the virus.
Photo Credits: CBNC
