Call for Action!

Under normal circumstances, epidemiological data is published openly and should be readily accessible to the general public. Transparency and openess helps governments with the  timely implementation of relevant public health policies. In a friendly and cooperative government environment, new and innovative data collection technologies such as the Call4Action Mosquito Trap™, for example, can be deployed successfully for the benefit of the population at large. More importantly, these technologies can be used for the development of an early warning system which is crucial in the prevention and control of an epidemic outbreak.
 
Unfortunately, there are specific situations where governments, for political purposes, actively manipulate and hide epidemiological data. Fearing a vast epidemic outbreak could have a negative impact on the image of its health care system, these governments create a hostile environment for the open collection and publication of epidemiological data. All physicians belonging to government subsidized health care networks are ordered not to report any incidences of epidemic disease. Moreover, previously published epidemiological reports are removed from public access and a de facto information black out is implemented, leaving the local population at risk.
 
This situation leaves physicians and medical workers in a predicament, having to choose between following their conscience or loosing their jobs. Given this context, the question arises: Whether some sort of clandestine local tracking/reporting system could be developed allowing for the publication of epidemiological data abroad without putting the local informants at risk? Increased international attention, in turn, would exert pressure on the local government to open up and admit to the epidemic outbreak.
 

For the purpose of this class, we propose a two-component tracking/reporting system comprised of:
 

• A secure private web site located outside of the country which can be accessed in encryption mode by the local informants to report incidences of infectious disease on an ongoing basis.

• A public web site located outside of the country which publishes to the world an online data base with information about local incidences of infectious disease

Further steps towards the implementation of this system would require: 
 

• A security analysis to develop a threat profile
• The recruitment of a group of physicians and medical workers willing to act as informants 
• The creation of a distributed network of informants to conceal the identity of its members (Middlemen)
• The training of informants in counter surveillance tools and strategies

 
A number of tools are available that allow anonymous web access: 
 

• Portable (runs from an USB Flash Drive) Tor Browser/IM Bundle for
  • Accessing web sites
  • Creating email accounts
  • Instant Messaging
• Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) Email encryption and decryption software
• Disposable Webmail Addresses. For example, Gmail does not include the originating IP in email headers and using https://mail.google.com/mail encrypts session
• Firefox FireGPG extension adds crypto
• Riseup.net (supports PGP encryption)

 
Useful counter surveillance strategies and tactics:
 

• Avoid using computers at home or at work
• Use a decoy
• Avoid sending original photo files as they contain camera information that can be traced
• Make screen captures of photos instead
• Use CD-ROM or Photo Memory Cards to store data
• Encrypt file attachments
• Avoid discussing sensitive information over the cell phone

 
Finally, for the above described system to be realized, the following challenges have to be taken into account:
 

• Data itself can compromise informant's identity
• Scientific credibility of  public data base can be questioned unless underwritten by a major NGO
• Government can block access to public blog
• Not enough Tor users in the country
• Write a security checklist
• Built a support organization abroad