Operator of the Luca app defends itself against accusations

The Luca app is secure and transparent, says the head of the contact tracing app. Security experts had previously criticized the application.

Patrick Hennig, Managing Director of Culture4Life GmbH, which operates the Luca app, defends himself against the massive criticism of the tracing app. Luca is secure and transparent and is not forced on anyone, he told the German Press Agency.

70 German security experts had criticized the Luca app in a joint statement. The benefits of the app are less than the risk. In particular, the collection of contact and movement data on a central server and by a private company poses the risk of misuse and data leaks, according to the experts. "Individual systems that act as central data storage are attractive targets that can hardly be protected against attacks," the statement reads.

Regarding the accusation of centralized data storage, Patrick Hennig told the German Press Agency: "But there are a lot of them in Germany. The financial system, every health authority, every health record, all of these systems have centralized structures." However, it is important that they are secure. "With Luca, no data can be read by a single party thanks to comprehensive decentralized encryption."

The security experts are promoting Coronawarnapp, which is paid for by the Ministry of Health. This can also track contacts, but anonymously without contact details and without reporting to the health authority. However, Hennig told the German Press Agency that the office is dependent on the contact details. "No health authority would say that we no longer need contact details."

The Luca app became known because Smudo from the Fantastischen Vier band advertised the application. Most federal states then bought licenses for the app. 291 health authorities are connected to the Luca app, Hennig told the German Press Agency. "Where there is life, it is often used. Luca is a system for the time after the lockdown. When restaurants can reopen, cultural events can take place again and visits to care homes are possible again. Before that, Luca can only be active in preparation."