IA “FACT” already wrote about the mobile application “Rezerv+” and its role in the digitalization of military records. Officials position the application as a convenient way for conscripts to quickly update their personal data and gain access to the “Oberig” registry without visiting the TCC or TsNAP.
However, along with the apparent progressiveness of this data logging technology, the application has been found to have a lot of flaws, due to which many consider it a digital scam that should not be involved.
Will “Reserve+” turn out to be a Trojan horse in the age of digitalization?
Users are concerned that the app collects and stores their personal data about location, health and marital status. Ukrainians are afraid that this data can be used without their knowledge for improper purposes – for advertising targeting or transfer to third parties. The worst fear is that third parties may turn out to be representatives of the aggressor country.
Some users report problems with registration, receiving messages and updating their data. Security experts confirm users’ fears that the application is not fully developed and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks and leaks of personal data. Because its code contains fragments of another application on the basis of which it is developed, it is still unknown how the data is collected, stored and processed, whether testing was carried out and whether the risks were calculated.
Be afraid of the Danaans who bring gifts, or who vouch for the cyber security of the “Rezerv+” application for Ukrainians abroad.
If conscripts who are physically in Ukraine can visit the TCC or TsNAP to update their personal data, our compatriots abroad have access only to the “Reserve+” application. It is stated that Ukrainians in more than 170 countries have access to the application, but in fact the application is blocked in many countries.
The reason is simple and clear: in a civilized legal field there is no place for applications of dubious quality that do not have an option that allows you to withdraw your personal data. However, the European GDPR legislation, i.e. the general regulation of personal data protection, which is in circulation throughout the Eurozone, has not yet been implemented everywhere. That’s probably why “Reserve+” still works only in some countries.
The voice of the people
In social networks and in the comments under videos on YouTube, users voice such side effects from using the application. “My nephew is a disabled person of the third group, he received a disability pension. After updating his data in “Rezerv+”, his account for receiving a pension was blocked. This is how the country takes care of its citizens.” “Tell me how you can legally remove this illegal search warrant from the TCC and not pay this inadequate fine of 17,000 hryvnias.”
There are rare cases when servicemen who have been in positions for a long time find themselves in the “Wanted” application. Military personnel do not need to update their details in the app. But if they still downloaded the application and discovered such delusions about themselves, it means that the TCC did not have time to digitize the relevant information. In this case, in order to update the military serviceman’s data, his relatives can submit documents, a military ID card and a certificate of enlistment for military service to the TCC.
“The application was developed by the company that is the developer of this application” or “We have concluded a number of contracts for the implementation of this contract with various organizations.”
The ability of officials to talk a lot and at the same time not say anything of substance is remarkable. For example, a video with the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization and her colleagues went viral on the Internet. It becomes clear from the video that even the Ministry of Defense does not have accurate information about the developer of the application (perhaps it is “Birdio” – a company related to dozens of state technical services), people who financed the project and have access to it. A contract has not been concluded with the developer and the terms of reference for the development of the application have not been drawn up. The situation, to put it mildly, is paradoxical.
Presumably, the customer who financed the project is the Charitable Fund for the Development of Defense Capability of Ukraine. “We have now deployed this application on the infrastructure of the Diya State Enterprise, the Ministry of Defense received the property rights to the electronic cabinet for conscripts and reservists from the non-governmental organization the Office of Operational Response,” – comments the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital transformations and digitization Kateryna Chornogorenko.
Lawyers draw attention to the fact that there are no resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers on the creation of the “Reserve+” application. In accordance with the law on mobilization No. 10449, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was given an order within two months from the date of publication of the law to ensure the creation and functioning of the electronic cabinet of conscripts or reservists.
If we assume that the Cabinet of Ministers entrusted the Ministry of Defense with the implementation of this order, there should be appropriate contractual documentation. If there are no contracts, then there are no responsible persons either.
TCC and TsNAP vs “Reserve+”
Security experts recommend that users carefully read the privacy policy of the application and take care of protecting their personal data: use strong passwords and two-factor authentication. And more categorical experts, including lawyers, recommend not to use the application at all, but to update your data through the TCC or TsNAP.
For those who have already shared their personal information in “Rezerv+”, which is about one and a half million Ukrainians, experts advise not to publish screenshots with their data on social networks for reasons of their own safety.
Tatyana Morarash
