Apple users in India can self-assess COVID-19 symptoms through Siri

NEW DELHI: Apple users in India can now self-assess COVID-19 symptoms through Siri. Users can pose questions such as “How do I know if I have coronavirus” or “Do I have coronavirus?” through this.

Localised news on coronavirus will be shared with users through this. Apple will use BBC World News for news sourcing through voice assistant.

Meanwhile, there is the Aarogya Setu App that the government has come up with for all information on COVID-19 and alerts.

The App which was launched on April 2 is meant to alert users if they have come in contact with a COVID-19 positive patient. In fact, the App has reached 50 million users in just 13 days – the fastest ever globally in comparison to other Apps. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged the citizens to download the Aarogya Setu application. The tracking App is an essential tool in the COVID-19 fight, insisted Modi. It was developed by the National Informatics Centre.

Meanwhile, the Cyber Coordination Centre (CCC) of the Home Ministry has red-flagged about cybercriminals using COVID-19 apps such as ‘Spymax, Corona Live 1.1’ to steal confidential data.

“Beware of frauds in the name of coronavirus,” the cyber wing said, adding that “some cyber fraudsters are circulating a malware link about the so-called coronavirus app like Spymax, Corona Live 1.1 etc”.

As per the warning, these apps steal confidential data from the receiver’s phone or computer when opened. “Sometimes, cyber criminals are also taking advantage of rising coronavirus concerns for collecting charity,” says Cyber Dost, Cyber-safety and Cybersecurity awareness Twitter handle of CCC maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Floated by the MHA back in March 2018, the cyber wing also advises people to be aware of KYC or remote app frauds and advises “never download any app like Quicksupport, Anydesk or Teamviewer etc for KYC completion”.

“Such apps give remote access to your devices, which allows fraudsters to know your PIN, OTP and bank account details for committing fraud.”

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