Newsman: New Yorkers becomes the first Americans to try out a new digital pass that shows their vaccination status and COVID-19 test results. It’s an effort to help venues open up to larger groups, says New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But experts are warning of a rise in fraudulent activity surrounding vaccine passports as states continue to open up eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine and more services start to require proof of vaccination. Since the beginning of the pandemic, scams surrounding coronavirus testing, fake protective equipment and fake COVID-19 vaccines have circulated on the internet. Now experts are concerned about a rise in fake vaccine certificates. New York’s is the first that pass being made widely available to residents.
New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that the state’s health status certification, called the Excelsior Pass, will help New Yorkers voluntarily share vaccination and COVID-19 negative statuses with entertainment venues and other businesses to put the state’s economy back on track.
But with the rollout of vaccine passports, experts tell ABC News they are seeing an increase in websites and online forums advertising fraudulent certificates and passports.
“The darknet is booming with activity related to the vaccines,” said Ekram Ahmed, spokesperson for Check Point, a cybersecurity firm. “Cyber criminals are looking to capitalize on the public’s interest to both get the vaccine or avoid the vaccine.” Check Point reports that overall, the number of false advertisements related to vaccines has more than tripled since January.
“It’s only a matter of time before hackers find a way to organize fraudulent activity for digital passports,” said Ahmed. “With a digital passport in each person’s hand, it could make for some serious fraud.”
But Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a press release last week “New Yorkers have proven they can follow public health guidance to beat back COVID, and the innovative Excelsior Pass is another tool in our new toolbox to fight the virus while allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen safely and keeping personal information secure.”
“It’s time to turn the page,” Cuomo said, crediting vaccination efforts and lowered infection rates as an indication that the state is ready for a tool to help jumpstart the state’s entertainment-driven economy.
The state describes Businesses and venues can scan and validate your pass to ensure you meet any COVID-19 vaccination or testing requirements for entry. Along with your Pass, you’ll be asked to show a photo ID that shows your name and birth date to verify that the Pass belongs to you. Adults may hold passes for accompanying minors. Once you and your party enter an establishment, you will still be asked to follow State and CDC guidance regarding social distancing, face coverings and hand hygiene.Participation in Excelsior Pass is voluntary. New Yorkers can always show alternate proof of vaccination or testing, like another mobile application or paper form, directly at a business or venue.
As of now, New York is the only state that has officially announced a digital vaccine passport to fast-track the reopening of businesses and entertainment venues statewide.
The pass could see New York’s Broadway theaters, concert venues and sports arenas fill
seats again after closures that started in March of 2020.
President Biden’s 200-page strategy for confronting the global coronavirus pandemic asked government agencies to “assess the feasibility” of linking coronavirus vaccine certificates with other vaccination documents, and producing digital versions of them. Airlines and technology companies have been working on developing the technology tomake it happen.
The idea is similar to mobile airline boarding passes: they can be printed or stored on smartphones, and participating businesses and venues can use a companion app to confirm patrons’ health status.
Madison Square Garden in New York City has been part of the program’s pilot phase. Both it and the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y, will begin using the passes by early April. Other businesses and venues will follow soon, according to the state.
The Wall Street Journalnotes “some health authorities are worried that vaccine passports could give people a false sense of security.” For example, rather than boost the economy and encourage vaccination, efforts like the Excelsior Pass could wind up further spread of variants. It’s also still not clear that vaccinated people cannot spread the virus to people who have not been vaccinated.
IBM, which helped the state develop the digital passport system, told ABC News that the pass is built on blockchain technology that allows individuals to share their health status through an encrypted digital wallet on their smartphone, without the need to share underlying medical and personal information.
Alex Holden, chief information security officer for Hold Security, a cybersecurity firm, told ABC News that the market for counterfeits means that vaccine passports “will likely be a target for abuse similar to fake COVID-19 test kits and protective equipment.”
“The notion of potential profit and abuse is in the air,” Holden said.
Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina, told ABC News that people who are hesitant to get vaccinated may instead seek fake vaccine passports or certificates.
“When you institute the use of a vaccine passport you are essentially forcing individuals to get vaccinated, and for those who may not feel comfortable or want to, there may be a greater propensity to falsify information,” Kuppalli said. “This will only make the market for these types of things stronger.”
Vaccine passports and certificates are being touted around the world as a way for various industries to start returning to normal while minimizing the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Consumers are already being required to use the passes at venues ranging from sports arenas and movie theaters to services like international travel.
