Some network security experts highlighted potential data security issues ahead for attendees FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Head of Security of the Norwegian Government Øyvind Vasaasen told NRK (opens in a new tab): “It’s not my job to give travel advice, but personally I would never bring my mobile phone on a visit to Qatar”, likening the scope of official apps like giving someone the keys to your house.
Those wishing to take a trip to the Middle East to experience the tournament live will need to install a Covid-19 tracker called “Ehteraz” on their smartphone, along with “Hayya”, a Compulsory ticketing and transportation application.
How do the apps work?
Vasaasen alleges that Ehteraz requires access “to certain permissions on your mobile phone, such as access to read, delete, or change all content on your phone, as well as access to connect to WiFi and Bluetooth, override other apps and prevent the phone from going to sleep”.
Naomi Lintvedt, a researcher at the University of Oslo’s Faculty of Law, thinks that if she were an employer, she wouldn’t allow employees to work from their phones in Qatar.
In addition, the French data protection agency CNIL suggested at Politico “travel with an empty smartphone … or an old phone that has been reset” and that “special care should be taken with photos and videos. or digital works that may put you in trouble with the laws of the country you visit”.
UK regulators have also recognized the problem. A spokesperson from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) told Register that it is “aware of media reports on this matter and we will be looking at the potential impact on the privacy of UK citizens”, recommends that football fans be agency check data rights page (opens in a new tab).
The ICO did not offer any opinion on whether to carry a secondary “record phone” for protection.
Via Register (opens in a new tab)
