Year of bugs

The pandemic has made surveillance tools more invasive and fearful. The government needs to urgently address privacy concerns

- NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has marked the beginning of an era where surveillance is the new normal. China is using camera-fitted smart helmets and drones, and facial recognition technology, to identify potential patients. Hong Kong is tracking people using electronic wristbands; Singapore has launched a contact-tracing app; and Israel is carrying out phone surveillance.

In April, India launched Aarogya Setu, a smartphone app that alerts people when they come into contact with Covid patients. When privacy concerns emerged, the government declared Aarogya Setu an open-source application that allows developers and cybersecurity experts to inspect the app and its vulnerabilities. “Aarogya Setu is a powerful companion that protects people. It has a robust data security architecture,” said Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Given the record of governments targeting dissidents, surveillance tools do not enjoy public confidence. In 2019, the Toronto-based Citizen Lab exposed how Pegasus, a spyware designed by the Israeli firm NSO Group, had been snooping on 1,400 people in 45 countries, including India. Pegasus had hacked into cell phones that had WhatsApp, the multimedia platform owned by Facebook.

WhatsApp has 400 million users in India. The security breach raised fears of state surveillance, after NSO Group said it sold Pegasus to government agencies only. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with more than 100 activists, lawyers and journalists who were targeted by the spyware, accused the government of snooping on citizens. Last November, the activists wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an inquiry into the breach.