Originally Posted by
WiredIncorrectly
As a software developer here is how I would develop test and trace.
In my hypothetical application the app the collects nothing but your geocordinates and your telephone number. Using this data I could then see the exact location of a person and everybody else around them.
... oh wait. Now we have a problem with my very simple idea. Already there is enough information to track the whereabouts of anybody who has installed the application. Forget the bugs in the system, that's nothing compared to the data they already have.
Is it wrong to accuse the Government of manipulation of data? Absolutely not. Every political party wants data to help market their campaigns. Domonic Cummings is VERY good at it, and I praise him on his intellectual abilities in the area of data science.
On the surface, it's a great idea. The same as Facebook app, and TicToc, are apparently great ideas. Under the surface lurks a sinister beast of every mobile application. The beast is the data sucking hoover that takes all your seemingly innocent "doing nothing wrong" data, and it turns it into meaningful data that can be used against you.
It's going to be super easy for the Government to fine lockdown breakers who have test and trace installed. "Oh look, she went out the house to get her hair cut a Maggies house, we'll pop her a message that she owes us 50 quid" ... said the AI.
I trust non of it. I work in the industry. I know how murky it is. My friends work in the industry of "selling data". I have profited from the sale of data. Ever put your name in to win something? Ever signed up to receive newsletters? Your data is gold.
I could set up a legit website, under a legit company, posing as a "loan search engine". You'll enter your details, and my cash machine will start spitting out money. You're what's called a "hot lead". Your get you'll loan, I'd get your juicy data that's worth £3. Just £3 you may say. Well, times that by 10,000 people doing the same and the numbers make sense. And after you've been sold once, I'll sell you again, and again, and again, and again until my lead list has been ran dry. Then I'd rinse and repeat.
If you feel like my business practices are damned wrong, you're right. But this is what is happening day in, day out, and all the players are on the ball.
I'm not in this game anymore, but I can tell you how it all works. For your own safety people ... ditch these apps. Just get yourself a normal bog standard phone. The rest is hype.
Google a company called leadbyte. Pay them £300 a month and you can sell your leads all day long. They'll even buy them and hook you up with buyers automatically. You pick the highest bidder for your data. The fee is for their software. I could fix my financial situation at the click of a finger, but money is useless when earned in immoral ways. I'd rather sit on my throne knowing I worked damned hard and legitimately for my income. I've been the bad guy in my past. This practice is often put under "big data", "data science", or in reality ... data brokering.
I'm a wise old fool.