Fake vax certificates renew calls for blockchain-based solution in Australia

Published at: Aug. 11, 2021

With counterfeit Australian coronavirus vaccination certificates circulating online, local experts are calling for the national rollout of a blockchain-based vaccine passport to ensure the efficacy of the country’s “Covid certificate” system.

A report in The Australian cites fraudsters who claim to have sold more than 200 fake COVID-19 certificates for $120 or more each while receiving interest from at least 900 other prospective customers. The fraudsters promote their products as being so convincing that “You’ll be the only one to know you’ve not been vaccinated,” claiming that they can arrange for doctors to enter false vaccination records into the Australian Immunization Registry.

The fraudsters are not without competitors, with another vendor of fraudulent COVID-19 certificates claiming to have partnered with doctors across Australia, Europe, the United States and parts of Asia to provide false vaccination records internationally.

Other sellers claim to offer more cost-effective solutions to bypassing health guidelines, purporting to sell doctored vaccination records for $12.99 each directly from the Apple App Store.

According to Robert Potter of cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0, Australia must harness blockchain technology to ensure its COVID-19 vaccination certificate system is not compromised. He urged both the Australian and international authorities to adopt a blockchain-based “non-reproducible signing authority:"

“We can come up with a foolproof system that only we can use, but we actually need a global system that everyone can use,” he said. “It would be the cryptographic equivalent of a hologram.”

Blockchain is already being used to verify COVID-19 vaccine status worldwide, with initiatives currently exploring the technology in the United States, China, South Korea and Colombia. Global technology conglomerate IBM has already developed a blockchain-powered system integrated with Amadeus — an airline booking system that is used by more than 450 carriers worldwide.

Blockchain Australia deputy chair Karen Cohen believes a blockchain-based COVID-19 vaccination certificate could pave the way for the secure sharing of health data worldwide, stating: “This would be a really wonderful test case as a globally secured way of sharing health data.”

Related: The Chinese University of Hong Kong and ConsenSys create COVID-19 digital passport

However, not everyone agrees that a blockchain-based vaccination system is needed in Australia, with Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen asserting that the existing COVID-19 certificate application provided by his organization contains “enhanced anti-fraud features.”

“Any fraudulent creation of a COVID-19 digital certificate does not mean our systems or personal data have been compromised,” Jongen said. “Where there are discrepancies […] Services Australia will contact the provider to ensure accuracy of this information, and correct the record if required.”

Tags
Technology
Blockchain
Dlt
Coronavirus
Related Posts
A minister's look at healthcare: Providing fertile ground for blockchain innovation
The strain placed on healthcare teams and networks over the past few months has been severe, pushing dedicated medical professionals to the limit as they work tirelessly to combat COVID-19 in communities around the world. The crisis has permeated every facet of society, shining a spotlight on the glaring inefficiencies within the traditional global healthcare system and illustrating the inherent need for technology-driven initiatives that can alleviate pressure on healthcare professionals and ensure patient data collation is as streamlined and secure as possible. As someone who has long championed the potential of blockchain technology to be a transformative enabler of …
Technology / Aug. 29, 2020
What Recent Developments in the Fintech Space Mean for Our Future
The fintech industry has been changing rapidly. Digital assets, distributed ledger technology and central bank digital currencies are gaining momentum. Multi-trillion-dollar United States Federal Reserve System money creation has increased demand for digital assets, particularly Bitcoin (BTC). Banks, brokers, commercial lenders, investment advisors, private investment funds, family offices, mutual funds, fintech entrepreneurs, lawmakers and private citizens should take note of several developments in this space. Old wine, new bottles The use of ledgers to track events and transactions is of ancient origin. DLT and blockchain technology combine venerable record-keeping techniques with new technologies — like storing old wine in new …
Technology / June 28, 2020
Pandemic Highlights Inefficient Systems: Blockchain Can Help
The Swiss-based non-profit blockchain industry association, the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC), believes that the crises resulting from the coronavirus pandemic have highlighted the benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT). In email correspondence with Cointelegraph, a representative of the GBBC asserted that DLT can modernize and address the inefficiencies of the systems that underpin the organization of contemporary societies. Coronavirus highlights DLT use-cases “The current pandemic is highlighting many of the inefficiencies and shortcomings of existing systems,” the spokesperson said, emphasizing the failures of many governments in both “preparing and responding to crises.” “While many of these inefficiencies existed long …
Technology / May 27, 2020
12 of the biggest enterprise blockchain players of 2020
Enterprise blockchain started gaining traction in 2017 shortly after Bitcoin had reached its all-time high of nearly $20,000. Since then, enterprise blockchain has mainly been defined by private blockchain networks used by businesses for things such as supply chain management. The enterprise blockchain space has changed quite a bit since 2017. For instance, 2020 has brought in a number of enterprise blockchain use cases that leverage public networks rather than private ones. The COVID-19 pandemic has also driven many companies, both large and small, to use blockchain for guaranteeing proof-of-health or to revive tourism. Finally, some blockchain companies this year …
Technology / Dec. 28, 2020
Chinese Province to Use QuarkChain for Construction Resource Management
Blockchain firm QuarkChain has announced a partnership with the ecological department of Northeastern Chinese province Shanxi. QuarkChain and the Shanxi province will jointly develop an environmental governance platform on blockchain (EGPB). This platform will be used by the local administration for construction resource management and trading. QuarkChain stated that, while limited construction materials are mostly located in a specific area, they are widely distributed to many places, creating the need for a management system that can better supervise the development and use of those resources. EGPB will be used for tracking resources along their supply chain. The network’s node operators …
Technology / July 8, 2020