Thread by @cosminDZS

PHAC is not being truthful when they say that the data tracking of 33 million mobile devices respects privacy

They claim to have tracked "cell tower location." Except knowing the location of cell towers is a very short step away from locating individuals
cdt.org/insights/locat…

A cell-tower dump request to an ISP will include identifiable information of all cell phones/devices in a given area such as signal strength and the type of device. The movement of devices between cell tower ranges is also a dead giveaway of individual location.

Remember, PHAC has not specifically elaborated on what data metrics they collected. In their statement, they claim to have "collected and used mobility data SUCH AS cell tower location."

Key point: cell tower location is only one example of the data they are citing.

PHAC says that they have hired outside contractors to "clean and process" the data to remove identifiable info.

Firstly, having that amount of data transferred to a third-party is a huge cyber security risk (how can the gov ensure they have the right security measures in place?)

Secondly, it's basically an admission that personally identifiable data WAS picked up in their initial sweep. Otherwise, data cleaning would be a relatively simple procedure.

The question remains: what personally identifiable information was picked up in PHAC's data sweep?

In the past year alone there have been ransomeware attacks on transportation, healthcare and even vaxx passes.

PHAC has made no assurances that the data is secure and the necessary resources to protect it from cybercriminals/foreign actors are being devoted.