College contact-tracing app readily leaked personal data, report finds

There are ways to protect privacy in contact-tracing apps... and then there's Albion's.

Read the whole story

 

[griffinme]

Just checked, we're talking about adults here.

Just a note, while the vast majority of college students are not minors, there are some that are below age 18.

Also, I wonder how this would fly had they gotten away with it for those dual-enrollment teens at the local high school? Isn't that a major COPPA violation?

EDIT: Also, it looks like this is a private school. They have a bit more leeway on privacy than publicly-funded ones, but still. That's another can of worms to cause some concerns.

And even minors deserve some respect. They may not be "legally" adults, but they're going to college. Let's treat them like adults.

Oh but they are. FERPA and HIPPA rules are all about them being adults. They are the ones that end up in collections, not their parents. The vast majority of the loans are also on them, not their parents. The problem is that parents are still the major providers, decision makers, and influences in their lives. A school that fails to keep the parents happy is not around for long.

 

[BarrelMaker]

Properly securing an app to be fully HIPPA compliant and secure takes a lot of testing, and I'm sure they spent nowhere near enough time to do so properly.

 

[dargonite]

the app will also lock a student's ID card and revoke access to campus buildings if it detects that a student has left campus "without permission."

What the hell? Since when do college students, need "permission" to leave campus?

 

[Matthew J.]

In an attempt to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19, one Michigan college is requiring all students to install an app that will track their live locations at all times.

What about students who don't have cell phones? I certainly didn't, when I was in college. (not that long ago, before you all get snarky with me)

Or who have cell phones that can't install apps, like older flip phones? Not every college student is affluent enough to carry around a private pocket-computer all day.

 

[kkeane]

In an attempt to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19, one Michigan college is requiring all students to install an app that will track their live locations at all times.

What about students who don't have cell phones? I certainly didn't, when I was in college. (not that long ago, before you all get snarky with me)

Or who have cell phones that can't install apps, like older flip phones? Not every college student is affluent enough to carry around a private pocket-computer all day.

I actually replaced my smartphone with a flip phone for exactly that reason. Still have the smartphone, but it never leaves home, just like a landline phone.

 

[cesarean escape]

Among other "tracking" issues, the data is both unreliable, and when it is reliable is at risk of being leaked. Yet administrators will tend to want to believe it is perfectly accurate and secure, because it is emotionally convenient for them to imagine that they have complete control and are omnipotent. That is a common mistaken belief that also applies to other technological scenarios, e.g., lie detector tests, which have become deprecated over time.

 

[obarthelemy]

the app will also lock a student's ID card and revoke access to campus buildings if it detects that a student has left campus "without permission."

What the hell? Since when do college students, need "permission" to leave campus?

College Athletes don't deserve "money" for their work, so that sets the bar fairly low as far as student rights ?

 

[Uxorious]

There are ways to protect privacy in contact-tracing apps... and then there's Albion's

Unfortunately, the assertion that there are ways to protect privacy in contact-tracing apps is just that, an assertion , and not yet a proven fact. As nearly everything the technology industry has created with the greatest of security and privacy aims has been later been compromised, exploited or manipulated, a contact-tracing app that is <6 months old at this point cannot possibly be touted as able to protect individual privacy.

 

[Coleman]

It wasn't called out in the article, but some other people in the comments mentioned it. The social commentary is relevant, of course, but it's really important when considering the "can they do that" side of things, to note that Albion is a private school; as I recall, it's specifically a religious one as well (Methodist). So it's more like, say, Notre Dame, than a public university.

 

[No Safe Exit]

leave them kids alone!

Freedom, growth, discovering life and who you truly are, there's no place for big Brother at College or High Schools.

Thats true. But we also want people to be safe. And if this app can help, maybe its worth it.
No one has to go to this particular college if they dont want.
Its going to be a tough call for any college and the question of whether freedom or being safe is more important will be answered in hundreds of different ways. Whatever the case, any college that wants 24/7 tracking must use a secure app and make sure that the info doesn't get abused/leaked...

Emphasis mine.

I don't understand the downvotes, I agree with you, that was my "Big Brother" part.

I downvoted because 1) 24/7 tracking implies collecting location data as this app does, which is absolutely not necessary for contact tracing. The best policy for keeping data from being leaked is not collecting it in the first place. And, 2) "No one has to go to this particular college if they dont (sic) want." Albion is a private school of frankly middling quality, but very popular among people in SE Michigan who couldn't get into U of M and can't afford/don't want to go further afield. If you're already matriculated at Albion, you probably don't have realistic options, especially on two weeks notice.

Downvoted? How childish. Aren't you powerful mister sissypants?

 

[omarsidd]

All kinds of legal violations here (hello FERPA), but the big story is incompetence when better solutions are well known AND broadly advertised (ie, the the Google & Apple framework).

Hopefully both this half-assed college and the vendor face significant financial repercussions.

 

[Quark6789]

Oh FFS. If I attended there, I would be consulting a lawyer for a lawsuit. Imagine attending there for a couple years, making progress towards your degree, and then suddenly "we're requiring you to be constantly monitored and also imprisoning you because you cannot leave campus anymore."