4 ms·

Can the US crack down on fake vaccination cards?

johnnyApplePRNG 5y ago
From the way all of the current vaccine passports "work", I would guess not. Who could have thought that the government trying to roll out an app/service to millions of users overnight would be flawed? /s
candyman 5y ago
It's hard to "crack down" on something that you could basically print at home and fill out yourself. That is unless something is developed to link the vaccination to your identity record. I've heard that there is work going on to associate a unique UPC code do each dose and then you could scan/attach it to a data record that could be verified either on your phone or in the cloud.
- johnnyApplePRNG 5y ago
  How would that work for the billions of people who have already received vaccines without the unique UPC code, though?
swiley 5y ago
The best solution is to not mandate them IMO. If you create strong incentives for fraud with something that’s difficult to authenticate then you shouldn’t be surprised when it happens a lot.
- mytailorisrich 5y ago
  It could have been done more securely, even on paper. The standard EU Covid passport is a QR code that contains all the data cryptographically signed, which is much more difficult to fake that a card filled by hand...
  - johnnyApplePRNG 5y ago
    So do you have to provide a second piece of ID with it then? (What's preventing one person from copying their cryptographically signed card?)
    - mytailorisrich 5y ago
      Yes, obviously the person needs to show some sort of ID as well. Quite a few EU countries have ID cards, but I suppose a driving licence would do as well. The card includes the holder's name and DOB, I believe, so along with showing ID this makes copying a card useless. The only alternative I can think of (assuming we do want secure Covid 'passport') is to have a picture taken when you get your jab and include that picture in a secure card... That's probably more difficult to implement when the vast majority of people have a photographic ID (ID card or driving licence, or even passport which is a very common document to have in Europe).

From the way all of the current vaccine passports "work", I would guess not. Who could have thought that the government trying to roll out an app/service to millions of users overnight would be flawed? /s

candyman 5y ago

It's hard to "crack down" on something that you could basically print at home and fill out yourself. That is unless something is developed to link the vaccination to your identity record. I've heard that there is work going on to associate a unique UPC code do each dose and then you could scan/attach it to a data record that could be verified either on your phone or in the cloud.

johnnyApplePRNG 5y ago
How would that work for the billions of people who have already received vaccines without the unique UPC code, though?

swiley 5y ago

The best solution is to not mandate them IMO. If you create strong incentives for fraud with something that’s difficult to authenticate then you shouldn’t be surprised when it happens a lot.

mytailorisrich 5y ago
It could have been done more securely, even on paper. The standard EU Covid passport is a QR code that contains all the data cryptographically signed, which is much more difficult to fake that a card filled by hand...
- johnnyApplePRNG 5y ago
  So do you have to provide a second piece of ID with it then? (What's preventing one person from copying their cryptographically signed card?)
  - mytailorisrich 5y ago
    Yes, obviously the person needs to show some sort of ID as well. Quite a few EU countries have ID cards, but I suppose a driving licence would do as well. The card includes the holder's name and DOB, I believe, so along with showing ID this makes copying a card useless. The only alternative I can think of (assuming we do want secure Covid 'passport') is to have a picture taken when you get your jab and include that picture in a secure card... That's probably more difficult to implement when the vast majority of people have a photographic ID (ID card or driving licence, or even passport which is a very common document to have in Europe).