Techtonic

Indian Government Open-Sources Arogya Setu Android App Code By Techtonic group In a bid to put an end to the  incessant privacy  and security concerns , the government of India has open-sourced the Aarogya Setu Android app. The source code for the app is available publicly on GitHub, giving Android developers and privacy enthusiasts to sift through the code and suggest updates that would make the app better for its  over 100 million users . This  announcement  was made on Tuesday evening by MeiTY secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney on YouTube. The government takes pride in the fact that it's the only one to open-source an in-house app at "this scale anywhere in the world." What's even better is that NIC (National Informatics Centre) has launched  a bug bounty program  to incentivize security researchers who discover vulnerabilities in the Aarogya Setu app. "The government is committed to keep Aarogya Setu application, its support systems, data a...

Government Eases Arogya Setu Compliance Requirements for the Private Sector By Techtonic group Following protests from privacy advocates,  criticisms from legal scholars  and a  strong recommendation  from powerful tech industry body, Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT), the government has backtracked from its earlier order that made it incumbent on all private-sector companies in the country to ensure that their employees install the  Aarogya Setu app  on their smartphones. The revised directive now requires employers to ensure 'on best effort basis' that their staff comply with the order. In the new guidelines issued Sunday evening, the Home Ministry says:  "With a view to ensure safety in offices and work places, employers on best effort basis should ensure that the application is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones to put in best efforts to ensure that the contact-tracing app is downloaded...

Arogya Setu App Launched for JioPhone Users By Techtonic group In line with the  rumors , India's COVID-19 contact tracing app Aarogya Setu has been rolled out for JioPhone users in the country. The app was  first launched  over a month ago for Android and iOS. It has since been  installed by over 100 million netizens  and should reach more users with its availability on Reliance's feature phone - JioPhone. What does this news mean for the 50 lakh JioPhone users across India? Yes, there are close to 50 lakh users of this low-cost 4G feature phone that's powered by KaiOS. The Aarogya Setu being made available on the Jio Store means they're now included in the contact tracing pool - important for a country with a huge population like ours. If you own a JioPhone, head to the 'Health' section in the Jio Store app to install the Aarogya Setu app. Image Courtesy: YouTube/ KK World As seen in the image above, the Aarogya Setu app on JioPhone looks and feels...

This Programmer Hacked the Arogya Setu App to Not Collect Location and Bluetooth Data By Techtonic group In its attempts towards contact tracing for COVID-19 patients in the country, the Indian government launched the Aarogya Setu app. The app, which started off as a voluntary install was soon made  mandatory by the government  for both public and private sector employees. Since its launch, the app has raised a lot of  privacy related questions  about its invasive collection of location data and Bluetooth information from devices. More scary is the governments track record of keeping user data safe, and the multiple Aadhar breaches have made the public even more wary of government developed apps and their security policies and safeguards. Now, in an attempt to make the app less invasive, a Bangalore based programmer has hacked its source code. The programmer, who spoke to media under a pseudonym, said that his intention was to make the app show him as 'Sa...

Arogya Setu Hits 100 Million Users Within 41 Days Despite Security Concerns By Techtonic group India's COVID-19 contact-tracing app,  Aarogya Setu , has been  installed by more than 100 million (10 crore) netizens  within just 41 days of its launch. The app, which  has been made mandatory  for all private- and public-sector employees, had hit 50 million downloads within just 13 days of its launch. The app was officially unveiled on April 6th, and is available on both Android and iOS. Available in 11 languages, including English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Oriya and Telugu,  the app helps people assess their risk of contracting COVID-19  by using Bluetooth and GPS to track whether the user has been in close contact with anyone infected with the virus. Even as Aarogya Setu continues to climb the popularity charts,  concerns regarding its safety and data-privacy policies continue to remain unaddr...

Making Arogya Setu Mandatory is "Utterly Illegal": Justice Srikrishna By Techtonic group The government's directive mandating the installation of  Aarogya Setu  on every smartphone in the country is  "utterly illegal" , according to former Supreme Court Judge, B. N. Srikrishna. In an interview to  The Indian Express , Justice Srikrishna expressed his surprise at how the government could pass an order that goes against all existing privacy laws in the country, saying:  "Under what law do you mandate it on anyone? So far it is not backed by any law" . Best known for heading the commission that investigated the Mumbai riots of 1992-93, Justice Srikrishna also chaired the committee that came out with the first draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2018. According to him, the recent Home Ministry directive  making the use of the app mandatory  for all public- and private-sector employees in the country does not have sufficient legal back...

Government Issues New Safeguards for Aarogya Setu Data Following Privacy Concerns By Techtonic group In an effort to assure citizens that the  Aarogya Setu app  doesn't pose any risk to their online privacy, the Indian government on Monday issued a new set of guidelines for processing of data collected through the  controversial contact-tracing software  and even proposed jail terms for violators. The new guidelines not only  prohibit the storage of Aarogya Setu data for more than six months , there's also a provision for people to seek deletion of their data from the record within 30 days of making such a request. The fresh guidelines, which lay down rules on the handling of data by various health and security agencies tasked with controlling the pandemic, also limits what exact information can be collected through the new app. According to the  PTI , the new guidelines allow the collection of only demographic, contact, self-assessment and locat...

Indian Government Denies Security Vulnerabilities in Arogya Setu App By Techtonic group A day after noted cyber-security researcher, Baptiste Robert aka Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y), claimed that a serious security vulnerability in the controversial  Aarogya Setu app  may have have jeopardized the privacy of 90 million people online, the Indian government has issued a detailed denial, claiming that the issues pointed out by the researcher are included in the app 'by design'. According to Robert, not only does the app allows for continuous location tracking in the background, it also allows anyone to see the concentration of COVID-positive or COVID-suspected people within up to a 10km radius. While the government acknowledges both those 'features' in the app's privacy policies, Robert says that he was able to develop a script that enabled him to view similar data for all Aarogya Setu users across the length and breadth of the country. Elliot Alderson @fs0c...

Xiaomi will 'Pre-install' Arogya Setu App on its Smartphone if Government Orders: Manu Kumar Jain By Techtonic group Reports from multiple mainstream newspapers last week suggested that the Modi government  might make it mandatory  for smartphone vendors to pre-install the  Aarogya Setu  app on all new smartphones. Now, India's largest smartphone vendor, Xiaomi, has announced that it is ready to comply with such an order in case the government does mandate compulsory installation of the app on all handsets. In an online press conference on Monday, Xiaomi India Managing Director, Manu Kumar Jain, said that the company will pre-install Aarogya Setu in all new phones if the government passes an order to that effect. He, however, clarified that the government has not mandated that just yet. When asked about the serious privacy concerns raised by cybersecurity professionals and civil rights advocates, Jain pointed to the government's claims that the app is saf...

MAIT Raises Red Flags Around Mandatory Aarogya Setu Install Orders. By Techtonic group When the Indian government made it  mandatory for all public and private sector employees  to use the Aarogya Setu app earlier this week, it added that the head of organizations will be responsible to make sure all the employees have the app installed on their devices. The Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) has now commented against the guideline. MAIT’s chief executive officer George Paul was quoted earlier today by  The Economic Times  saying  "Dereliction by an individual employee should not be a sword hanging over management. It is advisable that punitive measures on heads (of companies) be withdrawn" . MAIT will reportedly write to the government in order to withdraw the guideline  that holds management heads responsible if employees don't install the contact tracing Aarogya Setu app. Aarogya Setu app was  launched last mont...