English version – It is not my job to give travel advice, but personally I had never gone to Qatar with my mobile phone. That’s what news’s head of security Øyvind Vasaasen says after a thorough review of the WC apps. Everyone who is going to travel to Qatar during the football World Cup is asked to download two apps called Ehteraz and Hayya. The Ehteraz app, which everyone over the age of 18 going to Qatar must download, receives particular criticism. Photo: Faksimile / Appstore In short, Ehteraz is an infection tracking app created after the start of covid-19, while Hayya is an official World Cup app that is used to keep track of match tickets and access the free subway in Qatar. In particular, the infection app Ehteraz requests a number of accesses to your mobile, such as reading, deleting or changing all content on the phone, as well as access to connect to Wifi and Bluetooth, override other apps and prevent the phone from switching off to sleep mode. The Ehteraz app, which everyone over 18 coming to Qatar must download, also asks for a number of other accesses such as an overview of your exact location, the ability to make direct calls via your phone and the ability to disable your screen lock. – Can change the contents of your phone The Hayya app does not ask for as much, but also requires a number of accesses. Among other things, the app asks for access to share your personal information with almost no restrictions. In addition, the Hayya app provides access to know the phone’s exact location, prevent the device from going into sleep mode, and view the phone’s network connections. – They can simply change the contents of your entire phone and have free control over the information that is there, is the conclusion of news’s security manager. As part of the media house’s preparations for the Qatar WC, he has reviewed the apps. Vasaasen is downright frightened by what news’s security review has uncovered. – When you download these two apps, you accept the terms stated in the contract, and those terms are very generous. You essentially give up all the information in your phone. You give those who control the apps the ability to read, change things and adjust. They also get the opportunity to retrieve information from other apps if they have the capacity to do so, and we believe they do. The security chief explains that it is essentially like the authorities getting free access to your house. – You say that it is perfectly fine for the authorities to enter where you live. They get a key, they can get in. You don’t know what they are doing there. They say they might not take the chance, but you’re giving them the opportunity. And you would never do that, Vasaasen points out. Øyvind Vasaasen, head of security at news. Photo: Anne Liv Ekroll Compared to Smitestopp news has asked two independent IT security companies to review the technical aspects of the apps and give their conclusions. The Ehteraz app in particular receives criticism, and is compared to the first Smitestopp app in Norway. – It was, after all, a privacy scandal. If someone has slightly more evil intentions than the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, then you can do quite a lot of bad things with the information that the app collects in the first place, says Martin Gravråk at the company Bouvet. He explains that the app tracks where you go, and the mobile phones that are near you. In this way, they can cross-link the information and find out who you meet and talk to. – If you’re hunting the opposition, gays, or others you don’t like, then an app like this will make it much easier for you, Gravråk states. Everyone who will be traveling to the country during the World Cup is asked to download the apps. Photo: Darko Bandic / AP – The consequences can be significant. The company Mnemonic also compares the Ehteraz app with the first version of Smitestopp. – The consequences for individuals and groups if data from Ehteraz goes astray can be significant, says Tor Erling Bjørstad in Mnemonic to news. He has downloaded the apps and analyzed what is in the application packages, and does not think the apps are hair-raising compared to “normal apps” that most people use. – At the same time, they process data, particularly linked to GPS and position, which has a high potential for abuse. In a way, you have to trust those who develop or own the apps, and it is not a given that you particularly want to trust the authorities in Qatar. However, his technical analysis found no signs that they can actually change things that are stored locally on the mobile, but nevertheless warns that the reason may be that it has not yet been implemented. It may therefore come in a later update. – Increases the risk Naomi Lintvedt, research fellow at the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo, has reviewed the legal aspects of the apps at the request of news. She agrees with news’s head of security that it is very problematic to find, and describes the apps as “very intrusive”. – You cannot consent to parts of the use, but to everything. If I understand the apps correctly, there will also be limited options to change permissions there. This means that if you want to go to the WC, you have no choice. This is a forced app, with no options, she points out. The championship starts on 20 November. Photo: IBRAHEEM AL OMARI / Reuters Lintvedt says bluntly that if she were an employer, she would not allow employees to bring their work mobile to Qatar. Even as a private person, she would have been very skeptical about using her own phone in the World Cup country. – What is the main criticism against these apps, as you see it? – They go far too far in what data is recorded and used. They get far too wide access to change and take over functionality on your mobile, which appears to be completely unnecessary. It allows for government surveillance, and since it’s Qatar, that has to be taken into account as well. This increases the risk that data will be used for purposes other than pure infection tracking, she believes. Silence from Qatar news has submitted the findings about the apps’ security holes to FIFA. They state that they do not wish to comment on the matter. The World Cup committee in Qatar and the Qatari government have also been subjected to criticism of the apps. Nor have they answered news’s inquiries.
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Everyone who is going to the World Cup must have this app on their mobile – now experts are sounding the alarm – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
