The Belgian Data Protection Authority that monitors the privacy of citizens in our country, has called on football fans traveling to the World Cup in Qatar to be wary of two telephone applications that they will probably have to install while they are there. Fans are advised to use an old, dead smart phone while they are in Qatar.
Belgian privacy watchdog calls on football fans to be careful with mandatory apps at the World Cup in Qatar
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A report by investigative journalists from the Norwegian public broadcaster shows that two apps that are mandatory for fans visiting "go much further than indicated" in breaching their users’ privacy.
It was the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK’s security editor Øyvind Vasaasen who first raised the alarm about Qatari apps in mid-October. "It's not my job to give security advice, but personally I wouldn't take a smart phone with me on a visit to Qatar", Mr Vasaasen warned. The NRK journalist had examined two Qatari apps that foreign football fans traveling to Qatar for the World Cup would almost certainly have to install during their visit.
The first app that the Norwegians examined was “Hayya”, the official World Cup app that serves as an entrance ticket to the country and the World Cup stadiums and also provides to free access to public transport during the World Cup. The second app was “Ehteraz” a COVID-19 application that is mandatory for anyone entering a healthcare facility in Qatar.
In order to be able to install both these apps, users must first agree to all terms of use. These are far more intrusive than what we are used to. For example, with the "Hayya" app, the Qatari authorities can use the application to follow you. The Norwegian investigation showed that the authorities could also gain access to sensitive data concerning the users both the apps.
A check carried out by the Cybersecurity Team here at the VRT showed that the current version of the apps does not go as far in in terms of privacy breaches as its terms of use would lead us to believe. During installation, access to potentially sensitive information such as the location of the device is requested. However, many other apps request access to location data and in some cases this may be necessary to allow the app to function. However, the data could potentially be used for other purposes.
VRT employees that are going to the World Cup in Qatar have been warned to only install the apps if absolutely necessary and to be extra careful when smartphones.
Independent Norwegian cyber security experts have come to the same conclusion “The apps can track your phone and the phones around you and, for example, pass on who you come into contact with. Useful information for a government that preys on minority groups such as the LGBTQI+ community.