MySejahtera may have been launched as the go-to contact tracing app for Covid-19, but little has been done to allay a range of concerns, especially over the privacy and security of its users.
MySejahtera, since its April 20 launch, has seen more than 3.6 million downloads as of June 15, according to health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The app is used mostly for tracking hotspots, performing self-assessments, and for statistical information on the Covid-19 pandemic.
But queries sent to the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) by FocusM on June 12, which were then directed to the MySejahtera support team, were met with ambiguous and confusing replies.
Below are the questions fielded with the answers received on June 17:
Will the source code for MySejahtera be made public? If so, when?
Businesses can start to print their QR codes starting from 1st June, as mentioned in the MOH [Ministry of Health] press conference recently. You can start to see more businesses use it in early June. Be sure to look out for the MySejahtera QR codes posters.
What happens to all of the details collected by the MySejahtera app after the danger of Covid-19 has passed?
MOH will only access the data once a confirmed case has been identified. Currently, data is stored only for the last 30 days. Older data is deleted as this is beyond the Covid-19 lifecycle time.
Could you elaborate about the kind of security involved in those details, considering the rising concerns of data security in recent times?
As far as we are aware, the visitor logs and user information are regulated by MOH and will only be used by MOH in the event of positive Covid-19 case reporting to ensure the security of users’ personal information from misuse.
According to the app FAQ, the app was developed through a collaboration of governmental bodies and ministries. Was the app developed in-house, or was a contractor involved? If a contractor was involved, could you elaborate on the process involved in the selection, please?
Kindly consult the relevant teams at MKN [National Security Council] and MOH for further information regarding this as this is not apps related technical support.
What will be the future of the app after Covid-19 has passed?
Kindly consult the relevant teams at MKN and MOH for further information regarding this as this is not apps related technical support.
The last two questions were met with the same answer. – June 18, 2020
