Privacy Analysis and Comparison of Pandemic Contact Tracing Apps

ABSTRACT

During the period of epidemic prevention and control, contact tracing systems are developed in many countries, to stop or slow down the progression of COVID-19 contamination. However, the privacy issues involved in the use of contact tracing apps have also attracted people's attention. First, we divide contact tracing techniques into two types Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based and Global Positioning System (GPS) based techniques. In order to clear understand the system structure and its elements, we create data flow diagram (DFD) of each types. Second, we analyze the possible privacy threats contained in various types of contact tracing apps by applying LINDDUN, which is a threat modeling technique for personal information protection. Third, we make a comparison and analysis of various contact tracing techniques from privacy point of view. These studies can facilitate improve tracing and security performance to contact tracing apps through comparisons between different types.