Privacy during a pandemic

Work from home has meant a surge in the usage of video-conferencing apps... but beware, a contact-tracing app can be surveillance software

Information technology and artificial intelligence (AI) have been deployed in many ways during the pandemic. Researchers have created AI algorithms to analyse vast data to perform contact tracing, monitor people in quarantine, identify infection hotspots, and identify individuals at risk, etc. Apps have been released by various governments to track people 24x7.

At the business level, the necessity to work from home has meant a surge in the usage of video-conferencing apps. Personal users are also installing these, to stay in touch with friends while social distancing continues.

These trends raise new questions about privacy and security. Getting into the pros and