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How is it that the US and Australia with all their resources as well as high tech companies are unable to setup a privacy respecting forgery proof system [1] wh

How is it that the US and Australia with all their resources as well as high tech companies are unable to setup a privacy respecting forgery proof system [1] when tiny countries have no problem doing it. The code is even open source. [2] [1] https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/covid-zertifikat.html https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-... [2] https://github.com/admin-ch/CovidCertificate-Documents https://github.com/admin-ch/CovidCertificate-Documents

thoughtstheseus 5y ago
That’s a lot of reduced privacy no matter how you look at it.
- meibo 5y ago
  You live in a country that has your name and your birthdate on file for ID, taxes, you presumably have health insurance that already knows you have the vaccine - the EU system as it is right now is designed to prevent those entities from collecting more information than that. How is this a lot of reduced privacy?
criticaltinker 5y ago
Not to detract from your overall point - because it's a great question - but I feel that calling this system "forgery proof" only tells half the story. Presumably public-key cryptography is how these certificates are signed and verified, which is essential for sure. But, a human is still required to verify that the information in the certificate matches some other ID, which could be easily forged. Drivers licenses and student ID cards are well known examples of such. I think it's great that the system was designed to be privacy respecting. However with a bit of skepticism I raise the question - will this system stop anyone besides the most unmotivated of forgers? Perhaps it's still a win, but I think it's a question that deserves pondering. > Besides the person’s first and last names, date of birth and a certificate number, the COVID certificate contains details of their COVID-19 vaccination, recovery, or negative PCR or rapid antigen test. > Thanks to the electronic signature of the Swiss Confederation, this makes the COVID certificate forgery-proof and guarantees that it is genuine. > the COVID Certificate Check app shows the person doing the check the name and date of birth of the certificate holder and whether the COVID certificate is valid. > The person doing the check must then compare the name and date of birth with an ID document (e.g. passport, ID card, driving licence, residence permit, student ID card or SwissPass) to make sure that the certificate was issued for this person.

thoughtstheseus 5y ago

That’s a lot of reduced privacy no matter how you look at it.

meibo 5y ago
You live in a country that has your name and your birthdate on file for ID, taxes, you presumably have health insurance that already knows you have the vaccine - the EU system as it is right now is designed to prevent those entities from collecting more information than that. How is this a lot of reduced privacy?

criticaltinker 5y ago

Not to detract from your overall point - because it's a great question - but I feel that calling this system "forgery proof" only tells half the story. Presumably public-key cryptography is how these certificates are signed and verified, which is essential for sure. But, a human is still required to verify that the information in the certificate matches some other ID, which could be easily forged. Drivers licenses and student ID cards are well known examples of such. I think it's great that the system was designed to be privacy respecting. However with a bit of skepticism I raise the question - will this system stop anyone besides the most unmotivated of forgers? Perhaps it's still a win, but I think it's a question that deserves pondering. > Besides the person’s first and last names, date of birth and a certificate number, the COVID certificate contains details of their COVID-19 vaccination, recovery, or negative PCR or rapid antigen test. > Thanks to the electronic signature of the Swiss Confederation, this makes the COVID certificate forgery-proof and guarantees that it is genuine. > the COVID Certificate Check app shows the person doing the check the name and date of birth of the certificate holder and whether the COVID certificate is valid. > The person doing the check must then compare the name and date of birth with an ID document (e.g. passport, ID card, driving licence, residence permit, student ID card or SwissPass) to make sure that the certificate was issued for this person.