PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific is alerting employers to cybersecurity issues associated with COVID-19 contact-tracing solutions.
Interest in COVID-19 monitoring is growing as employers grapple with appropriate measures to keep their employees and customers safe and avoid workplace outbreaks.
“Safeguarding privacy is important for business,” said BBB NW+P CEO Tyler Andrew. “Protecting personal information applies to both customers and employees and can be done in a way that also creates a safer place to work in the era of COVID-19.”
Tracking and contact-tracing solutions are being considered and implemented throughout the country to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. High-tech solutions include smartphone applications that employees can download, which will track and store proximity data or use other means to determine location.
If a user is diagnosed with COVID-19, data collected by the smartphone app can be used to trigger notifications to other employees (and outsiders) who have crossed paths (within six feet) with the infected person.
While tracing apps are sophisticated and not all employers want or need such technology, businesses are being encouraged to find simple ways to monitor and track employee health and workplace exposure.
For instance, some employers are mandating employees use a no-touch digital thermometer and fill out a symptom questionnaire every day before entering the office.
The resulting employee data may go to a central repository, typically accessed by an HR rep. Small businesses or professional offices that are able to log information about individual customers may be expanding symptom monitoring to include customers as well.
As procedures and technology to track COVID-19 and trace contacts advance, privacy and security issues loom. It is the employer’s responsibility to understand how all employ ..
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