With mandated spyware downloads to tens of thousands of surveillance cameras equipped with facial-recognition technology, the World Cup in Qatar next month is looking more like a data security and privacy nightmare than a celebration of the beautiful game.
Football fans and others visiting Qatar must download two apps: Ehteraz, a Covid-19 tracker, and Hayya, which allows ticket holders entry into the stadiums and access to free metro and bus transportation services. Qatar's Ehteraz contact tracking scheme
came under scrutiny even before its World Cup use because it allows remote access to users' pictures and videos, and can make unprompted calls. Additionally, Ehteraz requires background location services to always be on and it gives the app the ability to read and write to the file system.
"Ehteraz is able to install an encrypted file which claims to hold a unique ID, QR code, infection status, configuration parameters and proximity data of other devices using the app," Tom Lysemose Hansen, CTO and co-founder of app security firm Promon told
The Register. "Essentially, it is clear that the app is taking data from the end user for more reasons than are expressed by the given consent button."
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