Several cybersecurity experts have highlighted the potential data security issues facing participants at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Norway’s Head of Security Øyvind Vasaasen He said NRK (opens in a new tab): “It’s not my job to give travel advice, but personally I would never bring a mobile phone to visit Qatar,” comparing the range of official apps to giving someone your house keys.
Those wishing to travel to the Middle East to see the tournament live will need to install a Covid-19 tracker called “Ehteraz” on their smartphones along with “Hayya”, a must-have ticketing and transportation app.
How do the apps work?
Vasaasen claimed that Ehteraz claims to have access to “several rights on the mobile phone, such as access to read, delete or change all content on the phone, as well as access to connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, override other apps and prevent it from shutting down phone to sleep mode.
Naomi Lintvedt, a researcher at the University of Oslo’s Faculty of Law, opined that if she were an employer, she would not allow employees to work from phones in Qatar.
In addition, the French data protection authority CNIL suggested in Politico that “travel with a blank smartphone … or an old phone that has been reset” and that “extreme care should be taken with photos, videos or digital works that may expose you to difficulties in relation to legislation of the visited country.
British regulators have also recognized the problem. said a spokesman for the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Register that “is aware of media reports on this matter and we will consider the potential impact on the privacy rights of UK citizens”, advising football fans to read the agency’s information data rights page (opens in a new tab).
The ICO offered no opinion on whether it was a good idea to bring an extra “burner phone” for protection.
Through the Registry (opens in a new tab)
