With counterfeit Australian coronavirus vaccination certificates circulating online, local experts are calling for the national rollout of a blockchain-based vaccine passport to ensure the efficacy of the country's "Covid certificate" system.

A report in The Australian cites fraudsters who claim to have sold more than than 200 simulated COVID-19 certificates for $120 or more than each while receiving interest from at least 900 other prospective customers. The fraudsters promote their products equally being so convincing that "Yous'll exist the simply one to know y'all've not been vaccinated," claiming that they tin can arrange for doctors to enter false vaccination records into the Australian Immunization Registry.

The fraudsters are not without competitors, with another vendor of fraudulent COVID-19 certificates claiming to have partnered with doctors across Australia, Europe, the United States and parts of Asia to provide faux vaccination records internationally.

Other sellers claim to offer more cost-effective solutions to bypassing health guidelines, purporting to sell doctored vaccination records for $12.99 each directly from the Apple tree App Shop.

According to Robert Potter of cybersecurity firm Internet two.0, Australia must harness blockchain engineering to ensure its COVID-19 vaccination certificate arrangement is not compromised. He urged both the Australian and international authorities to prefer a blockchain-based "non-reproducible signing authority:"

"Nosotros can come up up with a foolproof organization that only nosotros can utilise, but we actually need a global organization that anybody can use," he said. "It would be the cryptographic equivalent of a hologram."

Blockchain is already being used to verify COVID-xix vaccine status worldwide, with initiatives currently exploring the engineering science in the United States, Prc, Republic of korea and Colombia. Global technology conglomerate IBM has already developed a blockchain-powered organization integrated with Amadeus — an airline booking system that is used by more than than 450 carriers worldwide.

Blockchain Australia deputy chair Karen Cohen believes a blockchain-based COVID-xix vaccination document could pave the style for the secure sharing of health data worldwide, stating: "This would be a actually wonderful exam case as a globally secured way of sharing wellness data."

Related: The Chinese University of Hong Kong and ConsenSys create COVID-nineteen digital passport

However, non everyone agrees that a blockchain-based vaccination system is needed in Commonwealth of australia, with Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen asserting that the existing COVID-19 document awarding provided by his organization contains "enhanced anti-fraud features."

"Any fraudulent creation of a COVID-xix digital certificate does non mean our systems or personal data have been compromised," Jongen said. "Where there are discrepancies […] Services Australia will contact the provider to ensure accuracy of this data, and correct the record if required."