Medical data of half a million Britons for sale on Chinese website

[smallglassbottle]

https://news.sky.com/story/medical-data-of-half-a-million-britons-listed-for-sale-on-chinese-website-government-says-13535387

Medical data of half a million Britons for sale on Chinese website.

Annoymous medical data. For people who consented for that data to be collected and shared. It just wasn't shared how it should have been.

It's not ideal. But also isn't as bad as the headline would lead you to believe.

I know it's anonymised. Still unpleasant though. What will happen when non anonymised personal information ends up like this?

Obviously, it shouldn't have happened but if someone really wants my menopausal and arthritis notes, even with my name on them, what adverse affect could it have on me? What could they do with medical info that would disadvantage anyone? Genuine question as I don't really see the problem.

Whose word do we have that it's suitably anonymised? The same people who lost control of the data and allowed the breach to occur. You might not care about the confidentiality of your data but others definitely will. Potential for blackmail, insurance issues etc.

Did an MP leave a memory stick containing the entire database on a plane?

Of course, the digital ID system will be much more robust and secure than this, just like Horizon.

Oh, wait…

That's okay for you, but what about other people. They don't want deeply personal details being public knowledge. I'm a retired nurse. I got to learn things about people as part of their care, very intimate, embarrassing and often tragic things. Not to mention intimate pictures and images connected to people's medical notes.

Sensitive medical data can be used to blackmail