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Manila Bulletin devider devider StaySafe.ph could expose your sensitive personal information

StaySafe.ph could expose your sensitive personal information

Published Dec 21, 2020 03:00 pm

The official contact tracing app of the Philippines, StaySafe.ph is not safe.

Early this month, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a press conference that the government is encouraging the public to use the StaySafe.ph contact tracing application to track the spread of the coronavirus in the country.  He further said that “all government agencies and local governments will be mandated to adopt––and will also be promoted for use in all private establishments starting this December” Go to https://mb.com.ph/2020/12/09/public-urged-to-use-staysafe-contact-tracing-app-for-covid-19-prevention/ for the full story.

Security researcher and Secuna co-founder AJ Dumanhug however, warned the public in using the StaySafe.ph app as it could lead to sensitive personal information exposure, he recommends not to share the individual QR code generated by the app.  Since the launch of the app this year, many StaySafe.ph account holders share their QR codes on social media, thinking that it’s harmless a dangerous practice according to Dumanhug as it could show all the details the account holder submitted to register an account including full name, photo URL, age, gender, full address, symptoms, health checklist, company name, company address, government ID URL, email address and family member’s information.

The vulnerability according to Dumanhug is “actually similar to the LTO’s vulnerable API endpoing that could allow the malicious actor to authenticate to the app to get the necessary cookie/token/session, send the request to the API with the initial details from the victim, and store a copy of the response on its own server.”

Last month, thousands of personal information of drivers and vehicle owners were processed and saved by a website pretending to be an official LTO page. Thousands of users were tricked into submitting what looks like harmless information but later used to get their personal data. Personal identifiable information under the responsibility of the Land Transportation Office of the Philippines were downloaded by unauthorized individuals. The same vulnerability could be used by malicious individuals against StaySafe.ph to collect personal information.

AJ Dumanhug said that there might be other vulnerabilities on the StaySafe.ph app and that users need to be careful in sharing their personal code to anyone or post it on social media. He also said that since detailed personal information is not required to register to StaySafe.ph app, it is recommended not to give your full personal information.

Check AJ Dumanhug's blog at https://atom.hackstreetboys.ph/sensitive-personal-information-exposure-in-staysafe-app/

NOTE: A few hours after AJ Dumanhug released his research, the developers of StaySafe.ph fixed the issue.

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