Due to Security Concerns, Govt releases Aarogya Setu iOS Source Code

• Due to security concerns, Indian Govt releases Aarogya Setu iOS app source code.
• The security audit firm said the app is running on the significant risk of theft and policy abuse.
• Ministry of Electronics and IT secretary said engineers and developers are allowed to inspect and tinker with the app code.

Due to privacy and security concerns, The Indian government has released the Aarogya Setu iOS app source code. Earlier this month, The government said it will publically release the source code of its contact-tracing app, Aarogya Setu.

Since the app launched, Aarogya Setu, it is facing too much security and privacy concern issues and had been under heavy scrutiny by developers and the audit firms. Also, The security audit firm said the app is running on the significant risk of theft and policy abuse.

Ministry of Electronics and IT Secretary, Ajay Prakash announced on Tuesday, 'Opening the heart' of the Aarogya Setu app to allow engineers, audit firms, and developers to inspect the app and tinker with the code.

However, The government is yet to release the server-side code of the app which has been constantly requested by the audit firms and developers. The server-side code will help the developers to understand how the data is processed at the backend systems.

Furthermore, The source code for Aarogya Setu's android app has been published in Github and the code for iOS and KaiOS would be released in the few weeks. Nearly 98% of Aarogye Setu's users are on the android platform.

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The audit firm, Sawhney said the government will offer cash prizes of up to $1325 to security experts for identifying bugs or vulnerabilities on the Aarogya Setu app.

The IT ministry said today that two-thirds of Aarogya Setu users had taken the self-assessment test to evaluate their risk of exposure. More than half a million Indians have been alerted to have made contact with someone who is likely ill with the coronavirus.

Moreover, The app uses both Bluetooth and location to function the app, and it has advised more than a million users to stay in their house or get tested for the coronavirus. Almost 24% of them were tested corona positive, the ministry added.

Many allegations have been put in the Aarogya Setu app, opening the source code of the app to the developer community signifies our continuing commitment to the principles of transparency and collaboration.

In the statement, the IT ministry said, “Aarogya Setu’s development has been a remarkable example of collaboration between government, industry, academia, and citizens.”

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