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A date for when the app will be ready has not yet been announced, but it will be released if not too long, the Institute of Public Health (FHI) announced Tuesday. Acting Assistant Director Gun Peggy Knudsen expects it to be available for download during the week.
– It is not the technology it is in. We would like to see this in the context of testability, “Knudsen tells NTB.
According to Knudsen, no specific measure has been established on what the testability should be before the app can be used. The information entered applies if you are infected with the coronavirus and can therefore infect others. No data is stored if you have had the virus, but it is recoverable.
Tests in two municipalities.
The app is intended to assist authorities with infection detection, but can also be used to alert the user that he or she has been around someone infected with the coronavirus.
Those who have downloaded the application will receive a notification if they have been within two meters for more than 15 minutes with an infected one.
The National Institute of Public Health will first test its use in two municipalities. They will spend a week observing how infection detection and alert works, before it enters the country. Among other things, they will see what words to use when someone is notified that they may have been exposed to a coronary infection.
The test municipalities have not yet been selected, but several relevant candidates have been contacted.
Weaknesses cleaned up
In early April, a team of experts was created to assess the application and analyze risk and vulnerability issues. The group released their report a few days later with several objections.
Developer Simula and FHI say several of the recommended measures have now been introduced. Therefore, it is wise to launch the application, Knudsen believes.
Simula has taken into account the technical contributions and says that most and the most important weaknesses that have been pointed out have been modified in the version to be implemented.
– Subsequent security updates will generally rectify more weaknesses as noted, Knudsen says.
Encryption missing from phone
Several IT companies have helped test whether it is possible to break into computer systems (hacking). Improvements have been made to strengthen solutions and ensure data is as locked as possible.
Work is also underway to determine what rules apply to security and capacity in the solution. These are based on real threat scenarios, such as internal threats.
A key finding of the expert committee was that it lacked encryption on the individual user’s mobile phone, allowing for data manipulation.
The aim of the Institute of Public Health is for 60% of Norwegian mobile phone users to download the application.
– The more people download, the better, Knudsen says, but adds that the app will provide authorities with useful information even if they don’t reach this goal.
