TY - GEN
T1 - Blockchain and Contact Tracing Applications for COVID-19
T2 - 28th IEEE International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering, SANER 2021
AU - Kassab, Mohamad
AU - Destefanis, Giuseppe
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 IEEE.
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - Contact tracing mobile applications have been emerging as potentially automating surveillance technology to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) by tracking individuals and those they come into exposure with. The avalanche of these apps left the software security researchers' with concerns about vulnerabilities in hastily written software. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has motivated the recent interest of leveraging blockchain for healthcare-related scenarios, including proposing and developing blockchain-based contact tracing apps. Utilizing the cryptographic concepts of blockchain to secure the collected data could help in winning the level of public engagement required to fight the spread of COVID-19. But will blockchain be a panacea to all the challenges accompanying these apps? Motivated by answering this question and following a twofold process, this paper: (i) explores the current landscape of contact tracing mobile apps, (ii) examines how blockchain technology can contribute positively to this landscape, and (iii) reports on the technical and social challenges that still accompany the deployment of blockchain-based contact tracing apps.
AB - Contact tracing mobile applications have been emerging as potentially automating surveillance technology to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) by tracking individuals and those they come into exposure with. The avalanche of these apps left the software security researchers' with concerns about vulnerabilities in hastily written software. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has motivated the recent interest of leveraging blockchain for healthcare-related scenarios, including proposing and developing blockchain-based contact tracing apps. Utilizing the cryptographic concepts of blockchain to secure the collected data could help in winning the level of public engagement required to fight the spread of COVID-19. But will blockchain be a panacea to all the challenges accompanying these apps? Motivated by answering this question and following a twofold process, this paper: (i) explores the current landscape of contact tracing mobile apps, (ii) examines how blockchain technology can contribute positively to this landscape, and (iii) reports on the technical and social challenges that still accompany the deployment of blockchain-based contact tracing apps.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106642471&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85106642471&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/SANER50967.2021.00092
DO - 10.1109/SANER50967.2021.00092
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85106642471
T3 - Proceedings - 2021 IEEE International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering, SANER 2021
SP - 723
EP - 730
BT - Proceedings - 2021 IEEE International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering, SANER 2021
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Y2 - 9 March 2021 through 12 March 2021
ER -