Remember Covid – do you? Well, you should. Because of the consequences of the way various countries decided to seemingly deal with the threat of the disease – and various reports suggest, that continued to cause more harm – for privacy and security of data.
But perhaps when all’s been said and done about this particular event in our recent global history – that latter harm may prove to be even greater than the former, related to the virus/disease itself.
In New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul was a champion of something called the Excelsior Pass. In the US, this was the first one to claim it was providing “secure and streamlined” avenues for people – under effective, never officially confirmed, house arrest – to move back to normal life.
It was about attending a live show or a game or having lunch out with friends – but not having to show the “Covid police” your vaccination status proof.
The threat of Covid may have been real, but the damage done to people, and businesses, in so many countries, including the US, thanks to the way they responded to it, is beyond just “real” and civil liberties have been left in tatters.
That damage is yet to be properly considered.
And now, reports appear to suggest the usual mess that accompanied “decision making” by the authorities: from overreacting, to not reacting properly, to, in no doubt a state of panic coupled with the basic incompetency, create a crisis and trying to find a “third party” actors who would somehow “make it all go away.”
One example: the New York State deciding in October 2021 that it was a good idea to implement the Excelsior app. The app had major privacy and security concerns. Taxpayers, though, aware or likely not, have a rising bill to foot: it went from costing $17 million in mid-2021, to $27 million. And then more – reports speak about the figure “multiplying” over the past few years.
And what did the app do? Not much.
“The Excelsior Pass is rarely if ever used — and opens the related question of how many booster shots are needed to be ‘up to date’ according to the app,” one report explained.
“The current cost is $64 million, a previously unreported sum that includes funds paid to IBM as well as to two consultants on the project, Boston Consulting Group and Deloitte” – say records obtained by the Times Union.
There’s an investigation now in the state, and it concerns a total of $200 million spent.
Best of luck with getting to the bottom of that.
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