Ghana Post GPS exposes users to ‘identity theft’ - IT expert

The software can be accessed from the app store of smartphones and at the post office

Although it has been only eight days since the digital property address system was launched to formalise and transform Ghana’s economy, there have been many security concerns.

Problems such as internet connectivity and usability, and the originality of the idea by software developers, Vokacom, have been among the key concerns.

However, it is emerging that the software is also fraught with a number of security lapses that expose users to identity theft.

An IT expert, Stefan Froehlich, tells Joy News data that has been fed into the digital addressing system could also be hacked and manipulated.

Since the new addressing system will be used in the national ID card next month, Stefan Froehlich has adviced the government to resolve the issues before the ID card project rolls out.

“Yesterday I posted a proof of concept on my Twitter page where I signed up with [some numbers], 0 and nine digits, and I was able to sign on successfully. This means that it is possible people can fake their addresses.

"I can sit on the internet and listen to other people’s communication to their servers, that means I can steal people’s identification, I can steal people’s names and numbers and that is basically identity theft right there,” said Froehlich.

Meanwhile, Deputy Communications Minister, George Andah has discounted Stefan Froehlich's analyses, especially that the system can be hacked and manipulated.

"There is no iota of truth in that," he said Thursday morning.

He said the project is of extreme importance to the nation and has cautioned against what he believes to be unsubstantiated claims about the software.

"If this so-called IT expert claims to have hacked the system, he should arrange a meeting with us," he said.

The software can either be accessed from the app store of smartphones and at the post office otherwise.

A team from Ghana Post and the National Commission for Civic Education are currently doing a mop-up exercise before National ID registration starts in November.

The government has resolved not to issue national IDs to anyone without a digital address. 

The Software marks every 5 by 5-meter square with a unique address.

The Nana Akufo-Addo-led government promised to enroll Ghanaians onto the best addressing system in the world by 2017 and the Ghana Posts App which was laughed on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, is expected to deliver on that promise.