Ontario should prevent the 'hack' that hit Quebec's vaccine passport app, expert warns
Ontario’s vaccine passport app should learn from an episode in Quebec where some people created their own QR codes and spoofed the identity of several Quebec politicians, says a Toronto cybersecurity expert.
Quebec’s government has complained to police about so-called hackers who were able to appear to obtain the QR codes of Quebec leaders -- including Premier Francois Legault -- something that should be avoided here, says Claudiu Popa.
“I like QR codes as much as anybody else. You can flash them and scan them on the fly. But they should be only used to transfer and communicate secure information and the best way to protect confidentiality is to use encryption,” he said.
Quebec has defended its system, saying the alleged breach exploited a small vulnerability that is being fixed.
“It’s a really precise loophole that is being corrected right away,” Eric Caire, Quebec’s minister for government digital transformation, told CTV Montreal last week.
“We will think about it if it’s a good idea to put more obstacles in the system, more constraints,” he said.
QR codes are short for “quick response” codes and are often used to store a string of characters such as a website or some names and dates in a speedy, machine-readable format.
In Quebec, the QR codes contain a person’s name, date of birth, and information about the vaccinations they have received.
Those codes are a central feature of the Quebec government’s vaccine passport system, which launched on Wednesday.
It appears the so-called hackers were able to obtain publicly available information such as the name and the birthdate, and used whether the politician had already disclosed his or her vaccination status.
Then it appears the person made their own QR code, which could be read by the vaccine passport app.
In Ontario, the vaccine passport will first be a printed or shown vaccine receipt, and an app is scheduled to come in only on October 22.
Ontario’s Associate Minister of Digital Government Kaleed Rasheed told a news conference that the government is aware of the issue in Quebec.
“The provincially designed app is going to be very secure and privacy protected,” he said.
If the QR code displayed by a customer contains an encrypted code which only the QR reader can decode, the app would be more secure, Popa said.
He also advised that people should not flash around their QR codes, and keep them private as they would with a credit card or a drivers’ licence.
“We have so many tools that could scan QR codes from a distance,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.