Netizens demand Open Source Aarogya Setu after French Hacker targets the app

Open source refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible. So, after French hacker, Robert Baptiste released a statement for the app's vulnerability, netizens have started demanding open source. So, Open Source Aarogya Setu will help hackers and developers know the shortcomings of the app and solve it.

What did the statement say?

Though the app (Aarogya Setu) could be a useful tool in containing the (Covid-19) outbreak, a few tweaks and evolutions in the privacy policy will make the app more robust; it will enhance its privacy and make it more secure.

Also, Robert goes with Elliot Anderson as a pseudonym on Twitter:

And yes, yesterday:

- 5 people felt unwell at the PMO office

- 2 unwell at the Indian Army Headquarters

- 1 infected people at the Indian parliament

- 3 infected at the Home Office

Should I continue?

— Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) May 6, 2020

To this, the Aarogya Setu team replied:

The statement gave 11 recommendations and one of them was making the app open source. This would increase transparency and public confidence. Therefore, #OpenSourceAarogyaSetu is trending on Twitter. The demand to open source the application has been a constant one from privacy advocates since some time.

What is Open source?

Open-source software is a source code where the makers release the app's code. The copyright holder grants users the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose. Such codes and apps are generally publicly developed.

Why should India Open Source Aarogya Setu?

Not just India, many countries have their contact tracing apps. This includes Singapore's TraceTogether, Israel's HaMagen, Iceland's Aranja and Australia's CovidSafe. And these are all open source and voluntary. On the other hand, India's Aarogya Setu is mandatory for private and public companies' employees.

This has raised a series of questions even before, and continue to, on its legality, ethics and privacy feature. In retrospect, an official at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told BS:

The Government of India has an open-source policy. The fundamental thing is, once the app stabilises, it will be open-sourced. The focus right now is to deal with the pandemic and containment of the disease. If the app is open-sourced at this stage, people will come up with false reports too, which will have to be checked, taking up a good amount of time and resources.