Contact Harald, an Australian based technology company, announced today their ability to meet user privacy demands while providing effective contact tracing technology in the global efforts to stop the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contact Harald utilizes Bluetooth technology, placed in a card worn on the body, to provide optimal contact tracing support without a mobile phone app’s invasive requirement, unlike competitors in the space. The firmware in place on the card is designed to be always on, using smart battery technology to keep the card running for a continuous six months without recharging or replacing batteries. Contact Harald’s security team uses advanced cryptographic techniques embedded on the card to obscure location information, unlike most market solutions. By design, no PII (Personally Identifiable Information) data is kept on the card.
According to recent AP reporting, few Americans are utilizing current contact tracing applications. The main drawback of other contact tracing technologies is the user requirement to interface with smartphone applications, which results in user privacy vulnerabilities.
“User participation is an essential component of effective contact tracing in our fight to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nick O’Halloran, Contact Harald’s CFO. “While other market options utilize Bluetooth technology and purport privacy protections, their required use of a smartphone app supersedes any actual ability to maintain user privacy with total confidence. Users understand that once an app is placed on a cell phone, no matter how private an app may claim to be, a gateway is created into one’s metadata, and hacking vulnerabilities are presented. For these reasons, adoption has been slow to take hold of other contact tracing options.”
O’Halloran continued, “Contact Harald’s proprietary technology addresses user privacy concerns while providing superior contact tracing technology to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Contact Harald is also the easiest technology for a user to incorporate into their daily lives, with the need to wear the tracing card and turn it on once. If we do not provide simple and private solutions, we will never benefit from effective contact tracing. Contact Harald does just that.”
