A mobile application proposed to the government of the Netherlands as a way to track the novel 'COVID-19' coronavirus has already fallen short of acceptable security standards by leaking user data.
The app that is called 'Covid19 Alert', was one of seven applications presented to the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport.
The source code of the app was published on the internet over the weekend for scrutiny, as the government wanted to decide which solution to choose. But unfortunately for everyone involved in the project, the developers of the Covid19 Alert app didn't realize that the source files contained user data originating from another application.
According to the publication, the app had close to 200 full names, email addresses and hashed passwords inside its database that is linked to another project by an employee of developer Immotef.
"We released the code as soon as possible," said a spokesperson for Covid19 Alert. "In that process, we accidentally put this data online."
After the developers realized this, they quickly pulled the source code from the internet. But the damage was already done.
"This is just very amateurish," said an expert who wanted to remain anonymous. After looking at the source code with other developers, he said that "There is so much wrong with this app, I don't understand that it got through the selection."
Besides the carelessness, some have questioned Covid19 Alert's use of blockchain.
Covid19 Alert uses the blockchain of DigiByte, a cryptocurrency that has value just like Bitcoin, with a focus on cyber security, digital assets, payments and secure communications technologies. If the interest in such a cryptocurrency increases, the value often increases.
Cryptocurrency investors reacted enthusiastically on Twitter, who believe that if the government chooses the Covid19 Alert app, the value of their DigiByte assets will increase significantly.
"They fill my wallet," said a DigiByte investor.
The investors' predictions were right: since the announcement that the Covid19 Alert app was participating in the selection process, the value of the digital currency has risen sharply. Since that day, an increasing number of DigiByte coins were traded.
