ICONLOOP might soon be providing blockchain-powered visitor management solutions to local governments in South Korea to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO JH Kim told Korean-language tech news outlet ETNews that his company is in talks with multiple local governments to provide the DID-based visitor solutions.
The solution ICONLOOP is shopping to local governments would quickly and accurately manage visitor information without infringing on visitor privacy. Using DID, the solution would save personal data in a distributed way to ensure privacy. When there’s a confirmed COVID-19 case, the authorities can use DID data to trace contacts without revealing identifying information.
ICONLOOP has already released a visitor management service, “VisitMe.”
VisitMe accurately manages visitor information by leveraging immutable blockchain technology. Moreover, it allows visitors to select and submit only the personal information that is absolutely necessary to protect privacy.
Another strength of VisitMe is that it requires no separate devices. You can leave visitors records with a simple QR code.
He explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the validity of personal information and violations of privacy into issues.
Kim said although demand for visitor record management has grown significantly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, organizations are still dependent on on-site visitor logs. This forces visitors to submit all of their personal information, regardless of whether it’s needed, and burdens organizations with managing entry records.
He said blockchain technology can solve both problems.
South Korea’s method of contact tracing has ignited privacy concerns by making public the private lives of those who test positive for the virus. Accordingly, people sometimes submit fake information for fear of having their identities exposed.
This was clearly on display during the recent COVID-19 outbreak that began in the club district of Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood, a popular nightlife destination. Since several of the clubs involved catered to the nation’s gay community, many visitors submitted false names and phone numbers at the door. Even after news of the outbreak broke, people who visited the clubs were often reluctant to get tested for fear of being “outed.” Kim said fear of privacy violations is now adversely affecting quarantine efforts.
“The strength of blockchain-based visitor record services is that they can efficiently solve the issue of violations of personal privacy, a current topic of discussion. And since the technology has already been developed, they can be adopted quickly at the local government level without building separate systems,” says Kim. “We will build a trustworthy society through blockchain technology by protecting personal information while at the same time lowering social costs.”
