Testing the Excelsior Pass in New York

So what is it like to use?

Hoping to attend my first comedy session in years, I signed up for Excelsior Pass at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Spoiler: Not going well.

Downloading the app to my iPhone was easy enough. Like many users, they greeted me with an error message when I tried to register on the website. Many people have been can’t use the card because it cannot check the status of the vaccine. The system works by accessing the state in the insertion records, but database errors can cause problems, especially if there have been data entry errors in the vaccination sites. An incorrectly spelled name or an incorrect date of birth may mean that the Excelsior system cannot extract your record. So when the subscription couldn’t verify my identity, I followed the suggestions on the bug page and pulled out a paper insert card to make sure I was entering the vaccine site information correctly. After three attempts, each time I re-entered the same information, it worked.

Limited use

Although I found the use of the season ticket to be limited, it is basically limited to sporting events, gyms and other places of high leisure, which means that the set of users is limited. For the working class New Yorkers who lose their low-paying jobs and remain unemployed in the face of indebtedness, it’s okay to get into expensive concerts or a basketball game. outside of arrive.

This raises concerns about whether the use of resources is sensible. The state has so far spent $ 2.5 million on the system, and under a contract with IBM, the developer of the platform could cost anywhere in the next three years between $ 10 million and $ 17 million on the stage where driver’s license information, age credentials, and other data can be added.

“This passport program provides a follow-up to all the policies of the state government and Governor Cuomo’s pandemic,” says Sumathy Kumar, organizer of the campaign for All Housing Justice, a state coalition of organizations fighting for tenants. “They want to get life back to normal, for people with a lot of disposable income.”

If subscriptions become more widespread — for example, by becoming a requirement for access to workplaces or essential stores — this raises questions about privacy.

Experts question security

Users must enter their name, date of birth, zip code, and phone number to verify the status of the vaccine or the results of the covid-19 test. The New York State website tells users that Excelsior data is safe and secure, though privacy policy says it does not store information sent through the app, nor does it use location services to track people’s location. IBM ensures users because of their private data safe using block chain and encryption technologies.

Experts say the privacy policy is very poor. Albert Cahn, CEO Stop the technology oversight project (STOP), which opposes local and state surveillance in New York, said companies use a separate app to scan the pass; when he tested it, he found that a user’s location could track those scanners. As a result, the comedy club I go to may have a record of my visits there, and then I go to bars that need a vaccine certificate. New York State and IBM have not responded to requests to clarify whether scanning information can be collected or tracked.

Cahn says the lack of transparency is an issue. “I have less information on how to use Excelsior Pass data on my phone than on weather apps,” he says. Because the gateway is not open source, privacy claims cannot be easily evaluated by third parties or experts.

But there is little incentive to be more transparent. In developing Excelsior, IBM used it already Digital health gateway, a system that could be sold to customers in private forms to private companies that want to reopen their offices to state government customers.

“If IBM’s proprietary health data is intercepted, they can earn huge sums of money,” Cahn says. “Transparency can threaten the entire business plan.”

Privacy and security questions become more urgent if the password is used more. The pass aims to build trust, allowing people to feel comfortable in the crowd, but for many it creates fear of how it can be used against them.

Vulnerable to care

Many groups have real and well-founded concerns about monitoring and government oversight. Historical background shows that the use of these technologies, although initially limited, is widespread, especially as they achieve detrimental results in black and brown communities. For example, anti-terrorism legislation In the weeks following the 9/11 attacks, they spread the custody, arrest and deportation of undocumented Muslims and South Asian immigrants.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital civil liberties organization, has taken a strong stance this year opposition to vaccine passports. “Mostly these applications are a waste of time and money,” said EFF engineering director Alexis Hancock. “Governments need to take into account the resources they really have and focus on the public to get a better place after the pandemic, so that people are not put in a situation of more paranoia and privacy concerns.”