[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]When I received my second jab of Pfizer, the most exciting part was receiving a digital certificate. This certificate was my ticket out of lockdown and into bars, clubs, events and houses, whenever restrictions are lifted. A literal ticket to travel. A ticket that protects me from serious disease and admission to hospital. Even if there were reservations about the vaccine (there’s not), the freedom the vaccine will provide is enough to not only get the jab but promote it to everyone else as well.
I received my certificate through the Medicare app, which we previously discussed here. It is a pretty basic, informative document detailing all that is important right now; my name, the dates of my jab and the type of vaccination.
Unfortunately, as it turns out, this document is easily plagiarised or forged and it is utterly unsurprising that Checkpoint Software are reporting that copies are being sold on the Darknet. There have been 5.86 billion doses of vaccines administered at the time of writing, worldwide 15.4% are fully vaccinated. Lockdown fatigue and declining mental health is real and both factors are leading governments around the world to lean heavily on vaccination rates of 70 – 80% of adult populations to ease restrictions.
Vaccine passports are being used around the world to offer benefits to the vaccinated over the unvaccinated. There has to be some incentive to get the vaccine hesitant over the line. However, they are proving to be unreliable as evidence of receiving the actual jab, as the growing popularity on the Darknet proves.
The popularity of the Darknet counterfeit certificate, to anyone wanting proof they have rolled up their sleeve for a vaccine, correlates directly with the worldwide and growing resistance to vaccines as part of the anti vax movement and vaccine hesitancy.
James Turrill, ABC’s technology reporter was interviewed on Coronacast (ABC) to discuss the flaws in the Australian government’s digital certificate, that one I so lovingly downloaded with haste. According to James, there are 2 versions which are both easily copied using basic editing software, the security vulnerabilities are rife. He believes there needs to be encryption or a digital signature issued from a health authority, that can be verified to authenticate the certificate. This is a solvable problem, if we work on it right now. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”normal”][vc_column_text]Faster Networks help businesses protect their digital assets. We are a cyber security partner that brings the best software solutions that anticipate and fix digital vulnerabilities. Our areas of expertise includes Vulnerability Management, Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR), Application Security, Infrastructure Security, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection and Application Pentesting.
Contact us on +61 3 9016 0085 or send us an email to learn more about our cyber security services.
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