![]() Oakland University, also in Michigan, plans to deploy wearable health-tracking tech-a BioButton-to track symptoms and the potential spread of COVID-19 among the campus population. Others are trying cautiously to find in-between paths that allow students to return to classrooms more safely. Some tried opening as usual this month but quickly had to abandon their plans and switch to distance learning after clusters of COVID-19 cases popped up among the student body. Many are only offering online education this fall. AdvertisementĬolleges and universities around the nation are struggling desperately to find ways to manage the fall 2020 semester. "I think it’s more creepy than anything and has caused me a lot of anxiety about going back," one Albion student told the site. Students and parents, however, are still not enthusiastic. A researcher took a look and verified that those keys gave access to "patient data, including COVID-19 test results with names, addresses, and dates of birth," TechCrunch reports.Īura's developer, Nucleus Careers, fixed both vulnerabilities after the researchers and TechCrunch contacted them about the vulnerabilities. TechCrunch used a network analysis tool to discover that the code was not generated on a device but rather on a hidden Aura website-and that TechCrunch could then easily change the account number in the URL to generate new QR codes for other accounts and receive access to other individuals' personal data.Ī student at Albion, looking into the app's source code, also found hard-coded security keys for the app's backend servers. In addition to tracking students' COVID-19 status, the app will also lock a student's ID card and revoke access to campus buildings if it detects that a student has left campus "without permission." The code either comes up "certified" if the data indicates a student has tested negative, or "denied" if the student has a positive test or no test data. The app collects students' names, location, and COVID-19 status, then generates a QR code containing that information. That framework basically uses a phone's Bluetooth capabilities as a proximity sensor, to see if the phone it's installed on has been near a phone of someone who reports having tested positive for COVID-19.Īura, however, goes all in on real-time location-tracking instead, as TechCrunch reports. Unfortunately, researchers have already found two major vulnerabilities in the app that can expose students' personal and health data.Īlbion College informed students two weeks before the start of the fall term that they would be required to install and run the contact tracing app, called Aura.Įxposure notification apps being deployed by states, based on the iOS and Android framework that Apple and Google announced earlier this year, are designed to minimize harms to privacy. In an attempt to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19, one Michigan college is requiring all students to install an app that will track their live locations at all times. And despite some improvements, the Oura Ring struggles to track workouts, so if that’s important to you, a dedicated fitness tracker might be a better choice.Thomas Winz / Getty reader comments 51 with If you just want to track your sleep cycles and get tips, a free (or modestly priced) sleep-tracking app may do the trick. (Oura recently announced that the cost of the ring is eligible for reimbursement through a flexible spending account or health spending account. However, the ring costs about $300 or more, depending on the style and finish, and Oura’s app now requires a roughly $72 yearly subscription to access most of the data and reports. It’s also more comfortable and discreet to wear than most wristband wearable trackers. I wore the Oura Ring for six months it gave me tons of data about myself and helped me pinpoint areas in my sleep and health that I could improve. It uses this data to give you three daily scores, tallying the quality of your sleep, activity, and “readiness.” It can also determine your chronotype (your body’s natural preferences for sleep or wakefulness), give insight into hormonal factors that can affect your sleep, and (theoretically) alert you when you’re getting sick. Now in its third iteration, the Oura Ring tracks and analyzes a host of metrics, including your heart-rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen rate, body temperature, and sleep duration. The tiny health- and sleep-tracking device has been a favorite of fitness enthusiasts and celebrities since it debuted in 2015. If you haven’t heard of the Oura Ring yet, you’ve probably seen it on someone’s finger.
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