Aston University cybersecurity experts hold key to vaccine passport rollout

• Vaccine passports are certificates to establish proof of vaccination linked to the identity of the holder
• Renowned expert, Koji Fusa, visiting professor at the Cyber Security Innovation Research Centre (CSI), on the project to develop a global database for citizens to use in real-time.
• The CSI Centre at Aston University say creating a clear framework of rules for digital identities is achievable

Leading cybersecurity industry expert, Koji Fusa, has made progress towards developing a framework for the world’s citizens to store their digital identities and access them in real-time. Koji is a Visiting Professor at the Cyber Security Innovation Research Centre (CSI) at Aston University.

The idea would see a platform that has the capability to distribute over 200 individual keys to each of the world’s eight billion people. Each key could be assigned to personal information such as vaccine passports.

It will work by vaccine administrators sending the vaccination details of each individual to a dedicated server. That server will issue a QR code which will be passed to the vaccinated person as the digital key for access. The passport holder will keep the QR code which enables access to the server to check their own record at any time.

The framework would segment private data in a separate database, which can only be accessed with the individual key along with fingerprint, face and voice recognition technology, making it extremely hard for cyber attackers and scammers to hack.

Koji Fusa, a visiting professor at the CSI Centre, said:

“The current EU Green Pass initiative and World Health Organisation's initiative have struggled to find the solution for private data protection and counterfeit prevention. This proposed system would solve these two challenges. We have a solution that is secure, something that others have failed to achieve so far.

“By having a cloud security server which gives unique reference numbers to all devices, technology issues pointed out by The Royal Society* have been solved.

“This will be a huge step forwards for digital identification globally. Not only for vaccine passports, but for people’s personal information too. The framework would make everyday life more secure and simpler.

Professor Vladlena Benson, an industry-recognised expert in cybersecurity risk management and director of CSI Centre at Aston Business School, said:

“I am delighted to be working on this project with Koji Fusa. With his experience, I’m confident this could become the first such system where the authenticity of the vaccine certification instantly can be checked globally, something that can’t be done currently.

"This work is aligned to the trusted identities framework proposed by the UK Government and addresses the issues of data sovereignty and individual information privacy."