SCOTLAND’S national clinical director has called out the BBC after it ran a story about a supposed “glitch” in the vaccine certification system.
According to a story posted on the BBC News website, “a security flaw which allows people to edit Covid vaccination status certificates has not been fixed - three months after it was first identified”.
The BBC has downloaded a PDF version of a vaccine certification, and then edited it to include false details.
The story is a follow-up on one which the corporation ran in May about the issue.
However, national clinical director Jason Leitch quickly called out the story on Twitter, insisting that there was no glitch in the system.
It’s NOT a flaw. PDF’s can be edited. It’s a thing. The QR code cannot. If people choose to use them fraudulently to travel with an edited one or even someone else’s, their ID will catch them out.
— Jason Leitch (@jasonleitch) September 3, 2021
“It’s NOT a flaw,” he wrote.
“PDFs can be edited. It’s a thing. The QR code cannot.”
While the PDF certificates the BBC reported on in May did not contain a QR code, the newer ones released by the Scottish Government do.
Leitch said that these QR codes will act as the true test, not the written details which can be edited with readily available software.
He added: “If people choose to use them fraudulently to travel with an edited one or even someone else’s, their ID will catch them out.”
Leitch's comments followed on from Health Secretary Humza Yousaf's, who had also hit out at the BBC.
Would have been helpful if BBC had waited longer than 40 minutes for us to explain and comment before running their story.
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) September 3, 2021
Yousaf wrote: "This is not 'security glitch'. We know PDF can be changed, but security contained within QR code cannot be edited.
"PDF is designed for international travel, Border Force will check data on QR code matches passport and clearly identify any fraudulent use.
"Would have been helpful if BBC had waited longer than 40 minutes for us to explain and comment before running their story."
A BBC spokesperson said: "The story is accurate and includes points later raised by Jason Leitch on social media."
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