Protecting privacy in contact tracing of infectious disease

As the coronavirus continues to spread, research teams across the globe have been coming up with innovative ways that technology can help us track the illness. Smartphones can been used as tools to monitor new cases and trace the activities of those newly-diagnosed or suspected to have the respiratory illness — but privacy needs to be respected.

Listen in as BU experts in computing and data privacy, Ran Canetti, Ari Trachtenberg, and Mayank Varia, explain how the tools they have been developing can be used by public health officials to track COVID-19 — especially as we look to stymie new waves of infection from taking place when the quarantine restrictions are lifted. This expert panel is moderated by Azer Bestavros, BU’s inaugural Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences and the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts & Sciences.