Quebec vaccine passport app hacked within days after launch

Province because adjusting QR code identification system to improve security

Quebec VaxiCode app on the App Store

Quebec's digital vaccination passport system is under burn equally calculator programmers are demonstrating how piece of cake it is to hack the province'due south new VaxiCode app.

In only two days since launching on the App Store, where it quickly go one of the nearly downloaded apps in Canada, multiple accounts accept surfaced of tech-savvy individuals beingness able to exploit weaknesses in the app's blueprint.

The app works every bit a digital wallet for the unique quick response (QR) codes given to Quebec residents as proof of vaccination. The QR codes comprise personal data including names, birthdates, vaccination dates, and vaccination types. After registering their QR code in the app, Quebecers can then use their smartphones — forth with a authorities-issued photo ID — to admission spaces where vaccinations will be fabricated mandatory.

However, a computer programmer, who spoke anonymously to Radio-Canada under a pseudonym, was able to successfully generate faux proof of vaccination for non-existent citizens and register them in the app within six hours.

Around the aforementioned time, a hacker group used the newly released app to access the personal QR codes of several notable Quebec politicians, including Premier François Legault, Health Government minister Christian Dubé, and Deputy Minister for Government Digital Transformation Éric Caire.

For his part, Caire — who is officially charged with ensuring Quebec'southward vaccination passport organization is secure — has downplayed the severity of the app's weaknesses. In an interview with Radio-Canada, he argued that his personal data is already publicly available and his vaccine appointments well-documented on social media, suggesting that the hackers may not have needed to break into the app to gain that information. Nonetheless, CBC News reported that Quebec'southward Health Ministry building has filed formal complaints with the constabulary regarding the QR lawmaking leaks.

Caire too suggested that improving the app's security — specifically, making obtaining and registering QR codes a more complex process — would detract from the province's goal of making vaccination passports as like shooting fish in a barrel and user-friendly as possible.

Vaccination passports will exist officially required to access certain public spaces and events in Quebec as of September 1st, 2021.

Source: CBC News