EU COVID-19 'Digital Pass' Gateway System Goes Live

Following this aspect of construction, delivery and use of passport systems.

EU COVID-19 'Digital Pass' Gateway System Goes Live      By TechCrunch, June 8, 2021

The gateway system for the EU's "digital pass" for verifying COVID-19 vaccination or test status went live June 1.

The digital pass prevents falsifications using QR codes and digital signatures, which are verified using public key cryptography.

Those without access to a mobile device can receive paper-based certificates.

Seven countries—Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia, and Poland—plan to start issuing and verifying certificates, while other member states will begin doing so ahead of the full launch on July 1.

Twenty-two countries have tested the gateway successfully since May 10.

The European Commission has published reference software and apps for the issuance, storage, and verification of certificates on GitHub, with 12 member-states using the code so far.

From TechCrunch  Full article  

England Vaccine Passport

Some intriguing details of the approach in play

What England’s new vaccine passport could mean for covid tech’s next act

As more countries roll out systems for proving that people are immunized, they can learn from last year’s flood of covid apps.   by Lindsay Muscato

Almost exactly a year ago, software developers rushed to build technologies that could help stop the pandemic. Back then, the focus was on apps that could track whether you’d been near someone with covid. Today the discussion is about digital vaccine credentials, often called “vaccine passports,” designed to work on your smartphone and show that you’ve been inoculated. 

The latest launch came on May 17 in England, with the National Health Service’s new digital credential for crossing borders. Here’s what we know about it: 

It’s only for people going out of the UK from England (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are not yet using the app, although it could expand to them soon).

It’s just for crossing borders. Using it at places around town (like pubs) has been suggested by some, but that remains a controversial idea. 

Not many countries accept proof of vaccination as an alternative to quarantining or showing a negative covid test, so those using the app still need to check the rules for their particular destination.

It’s an upgrade of an NHS app that connects people to their doctors’ offices and medical records—and not an addition to the NHS’s much-debated contact tracing app.

Right now it can only show vaccination status, not other information such as negative test results, although that could be added.

People without smartphones can request a letter that verifies they’ve had both doses of the vaccine.   ....  '

Roadblocks to a Vaccine Passport

Gave this thought after innoculation.  What serves as proof, and with what groups?

What Are the Roadblocks to a 'Vaccine Passport'?    By The New York Times

The Heliix Health Passport is one of many developers are working on as a way of sharing coronavirus vaccine and testing information quickly and securely.

With all American adults soon to be eligible for Covid-19 vaccines and businesses and international borders reopening, a fierce debate has kicked off across the United States over whether a digital health certificate (often and somewhat misleadingly called a "vaccine passport") should be required to prove immunization status.

Currently, Americans are issued a white paper card as evidence of their Covid-19 shots, but these can easily be forged, and online scammers are already selling false and stolen vaccine cards.

While the federal government has said it will not introduce digital vaccine passports by federal mandate, a growing number of businesses — from cruise lines to sports venues — say they will require proof of vaccinations for entry or services. Hundreds of digital health pass initiatives are scrambling to launch apps that provide a verified electronic record of immunizations and negative Covid-19 test results to streamline the process.

The drive has raised privacy and equity concerns and some states like Florida and Texas have banned businesses from requiring vaccination certificates. But developers argue that the digital infrastructure is secure and will help speed up the process of reopening society and reviving travel.

Vaccine Passports

 First thing I thought of after receiving my document indicating I had been COVID Vaccinated.   Hardly looked like a 'passport'.  Could have been easily altered.   Should I carry it around with me?   Or risk being quarantined?  Mobile apps here being considered.

Likely Legal, 'Vaccine Passports' Emerge as the Next Coronavirus Divide   By The New York Times, April 7, 2021

Cathay Pacific airlines, convinced that digital proof of coronavirus vaccination will bring about the return of safe international travel, asked its pilots and crew to try out a new mobile app that showed their vaccination status on a recent flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles.

New York has rolled out "Excelsior Pass," billed by the state as "a free, fast and secure way to present digital proof of Covid-19 vaccination" in case reopening sports and entertainment venues require proof of attendees' status.

And Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, is offering electronic verification apps to patients vaccinated in its stores so they "can easily access their vaccine status as needed," the company says.

Around the country, businesses, schools and politicians are considering "vaccine passports" — digital proof of vaccination against the coronavirus — as a path to reviving the economy and getting Americans back to work and play. Businesses especially fear that too many customers will stay away unless they can be assured that the other patrons have been inoculated.

From The New York Times

E Passports Don't Work

Remember about 10 years plus ago, being in a rush to get my passport updated before a major international business trip.   A  passport with an early version of the RFID chip.   Assumed it was much more secure and would work in many foreign systems to give me easier access.  Well, maybe not.  Not sure what the complete implications are here.   What should we do?

US Border Patrol Hasn't Validated E-Passport in Years
Passports, like any physical ID, can be altered and forged. That's partly why for the last 11 years the United States has put RFID chips in the back panel of its passports, creating so-called e-Passports. The chip stores your passport information—like name, date of birth, passport number, your photo, and even a biometric identifier—for quick, machine-readable border checks. And while e-Passports also store a cryptographic signature to prevent tampering or forgeries, it turns out that despite having over a decade to do so, US Customs and Border Protection hasn't deployed the software needed to actually verify it. .... "