• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4145-4162
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• 2021

During the period of epidemic prevention and control, contact tracing systems are developed in many countries, to stop or slow down the progression of COVID-19 contamination. However, the privacy issues involved in the use of contact tracing apps have also attracted people's attention. First, we divide contact tracing techniques into two types: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based and Global Positioning System (GPS) based techniques. In order to clear understand the system structure and its elements, we create data flow diagram (DFD) of each types. Second, we analyze the possible privacy threats contained in various types of contact tracing apps by applying LINDDUN, which is a threat modeling technique for personal information protection. Third, we make a comparison and analysis of various contact tracing techniques from privacy point of view. These studies can facilitate improve tracing and security performance to contact tracing apps through comparisons between different types.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1151-1166
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• 2020

To effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections, contact tracing technology based on ICT technology is used and various types exist depending on the way they are tracked. However, these technologies are always exposed to security threats and each type of threat varies. In this paper, we identified processes that occur in common in various types of contact tracing technology and identified possible threats in this process. This resulted in a common evaluation criteria applicable to all types of contact tracing technologies and applied to actual published contact tracing technologies to perform comparative analysis by type. These studies can help select safe and effective contact tracing technologies through comparisons between different types.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.644-662
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• 2023

There are still outbreaks of COVID-19 across the world. Ships increase the risk of worldwide transmission of the virus. Close contact tracing remains as an effective method of reducing the risk of virus transmission. Therefore, close contact tracing in ship environments becomes a research topic. Exposure Notifications API (Application Programming Interface) can be used to determine the encountered location points of close contacts on ships. Location points of close contact are estimated by the encountered location points. Risky areas in ships can be calculated based on the encountered location points. The tracking of close contacts is possible with Bluetooth technology without the Internet. The Bluetooth signal can be used to judge the proximity among detecting devices by using the feature that Bluetooth has a strong signal at close range. This Bluetooth feature makes it possible to trace close contacts in ship environments. In this paper, we propose a method for close contact tracing and showing the risky area in a ship environment by combining beacon and Exposure Notification API using Bluetooth technology. This method does not require an Internet connection for tracing close contacts and can protect the personal information of close contacts.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.291-307
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• 2021

There has been global efforts to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 and get society back to normal. 'Contact tracing' is a crucial way to detect the infected person. However the contact tracing makes another concern about the privacy violation of the personal data of infected people, released by governments. Therefore Google and Apple are announcing a joint effort to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy and security central to the design. However, in order to provide the improved tracing application, it is necessary to identify potential security threats and investigate vulnerabilities for systematically. In this paper, we provide security analysis of Privacy-Preserving COVID-19 Contact Tracing App with STRIDE and LINDDUN threat models. Based on the analysis, we propose to adopt a verifiable computation scheme, Zero-knowledge Succinctness Non-interactive Arguments of Knowledges (zkSNARKs) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to ensure both data integrity and privacy protection in a more practical way.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.377-383
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• 2023

Objectives: Korea and Japan have managed the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) using markedly different policies, referred to as the "3T" and "3C" strategies, respectively. This study examined these differences to assess the roles of active testing and contact tracing as non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). We compared the proportion of unlinked cases (UCs) and test positivity rate (TPR) as indicators of tracing and testing capacities. Methods: We outlined the evolution of NPI policies and investigated temporal trends in their correlations with UCs, confirmed cases, and TPR prior to the Omicron peak. Spearman correlation coefficients were reported between the proportion of UCs, confirmed cases, and TPR. The Fisher r-to-z transformation was employed to examine the significance of differences between correlation coefficients. Results: The proportion of UCs was significantly correlated with confirmed cases (r=0.995, p<0.001) and TPR (r=0.659, p<0.001) in Korea and with confirmed cases (r=0.437, p<0.001) and TPR (r=0.429, p<0.001) in Japan. The Fisher r-to-z test revealed significant differences in correlation coefficients between the proportion of UCs and confirmed cases (z=16.07, p<0.001) and between the proportion of UCs and TPR (z=2.12, p=0.034) in Korea and Japan. Conclusions: Higher UCs were associated with increases in confirmed cases and TPR, indicating the importance of combining testing and contact tracing in controlling COVID-19. The implementation of stricter policies led to stronger correlations between these indicators. The proportion of UCs and TPR effectively indicated the effectiveness of NPIs. If the proportion of UCs shows an upward trend, more testing and contact tracing may be required.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.408-415
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• 1997

The backward tracing scheme of the finite element analysis, which is counted to be unique and useful for process design in metal forming, has been developed and applied successfully in industry to several metal forming processes. Here the backward tracing scheme is implemented for process design of three-dimensional plastic deformation in metal forming, and it is applied to a precision coining process. The contact problem between the die and workpiece has been treated carefully during backward tracing simulation in three-dimensional deformation. The results confirm that the application of the developed program implemented with backward tracing scheme of the rigid plastic finite element leads to a reasonable initial piercing hole configuration. It is concluded that three-dimensional extension of the scheme appears to be successful for industrial applications.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.359-373
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• 2022

The new crown pneumonia (COVID-19) has become a global epidemic. The disease has spread to most countries and poses a challenge to the healthcare system. Contact tracing technology is an effective way for public health to deal with diseases. Many experts have studied traditional contact tracing and developed digital contact tracking. In order to better understand the field of contact tracking, it is necessary to analyze the development of contact tracking in the field of computer science by bibliometrics. The purpose of this research is to use literature statistics and topic analysis to characterize the research literature of contact tracking in the field of computer science, to gain an in-depth understanding of the literature development status of contact tracking and the trend of hot topics over the past decade. In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, we conducted a bibliometric study in this paper. The study uses data collected from the Scopus database. Which contains more than 10,000 articles, including more than 2,000 in the field of computer science. For popular trends, we use VOSviewer for visual analysis. The number of contact tracking documents published annually in the computer field is increasing. At present, there are 200 to 300 papers published in the field of computer science each year, and the number of uncited papers is relatively small. Through the visual analysis of the paper, we found that the hot topic of contact tracking has changed from the past "mathematical model," "biological model," and "algorithm" to the current "digital contact tracking," "privacy," and "mobile application" and other topics. Contact tracking is currently a hot research topic. By selecting the most cited papers, we can display high-quality literature in contact tracking and characterize the development trend of the entire field through topic analysis. This is useful for students and researchers new to field of contact tracking ai well as for presenting our results to other subjects. Especially when comprehensive research cannot be conducted due to time constraints or lack of precise research questions, our research analysis can provide value for it.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.16-33
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• 2022

Purposes: Prompt evaluation of routes and contact tracing are very important for epidemiological investigations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To ensure better adoption of contact tracing apps, it is necessary to understand users' expectations, preferences, and concerns. This study aimed to identify main reasons why people use the apps, appropriate services, and basis for voluntary app services that can improve app participation rates and data sharing. Methodology/Approach: This study conducted an online survey from November 11 to December 6, 2020, and received a total of 1,048 survey responses. This study analyzed the questionnaire survey findings of 883 respondents in areas with many confirmed cases of COVID-19. This study used a multiple regression analysis. Findings: Respondents who had experience of using related apps showed a high intention to use contact-tracing apps. Participants wished for the contact tracking apps to be provided by the government or public health centers (74%) and preferred free apps (93.88%). The factors affecting the participants' intention to use these apps were their preventive value, performance expectancy, perceived risk, facilitative ability, and effort expectancy. The results highlighted the need to ensure voluntary participation to address participants' concerns regarding privacy protection and personal information exposure. Practical Implications: The results can be used to accurately identify user needs and appropriate services and thereby improve the development of contact tracking apps. The findings provide the basis for voluntary app that can enhance app participation rates and data sharing. The results will also serve as the basis for developing trusted apps that can facilitate epidemiological investigations.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.681-685
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• 2022

Including the COVID-19 crisis, humanity is constantly exposed to viral infections, and efforts are being made to prevent the spread of infection by quickly isolating infected people and tracing contacts. Passive epidemiological investigations that confirm contact with an infected person through contact have limitations in terms of accuracy and speed, so automatic tracking methods using various digital technologies are being proposed. This paper verify contact by utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and present an algorithm that identifies close contact through analysis and correction of RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) values. Also, propose a system that can prevent the spread of viruses in a centralized server structure.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.277-279
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• 2015

Contact monitoring is an essential component of the public health response to a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak, and is required for an effective quarantine to contain the epidemic. The timeliness of a quarantine is associated with its effectiveness. This paper provides a conceptual framework to describe the process of contact monitoring, and proposes a new measure called the "timely quarantined proportion" as a tool to assess the adequacy of a public health response.