- Published
- 11 February 2021
- Conference item
Checking Contact Tracing App Implementations
- Authors
- Source
- Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - ICISSP
Full text
Abstract
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing apps have been developed based on digital contact tracing frameworks. These allow developers to build privacy-conscious apps that detect whether an infected individual is in close-proximity with others. Given the urgency of the problem, these apps have been developed at an accelerated rate with a brief testing period. Such quick development may have led to mistakes in the apps’ implementations, resulting in problems with their functionality, privacy and security. To mitigate these concerns, we develop and apply a methodology for evaluating the functionality, privacy and security of Android apps using the Google/Apple Exposure Notification API. This is a three-pronged approach consisting of a manual analysis, general static analysis and a bespoke static analysis, using a tool we’ve developed, dubbed MonSTER. As a result, we have found that, although most apps met the basic standards outlined by Google/Apple, there are issues with th e functionality of some of these apps that could impact user safety.
Cite as
Flood, R., Chan, S., Chen, W. & Aspinall, D. 2021, 'Checking Contact Tracing App Implementations', Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - ICISSP, pp. 133-134. https://doi.org/10.5220/0010237201330144