Medical data of 500,000 people in UK listed for sale in China
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The news: Medical data from 500,000 UK volunteers was put up for sale on a site owned by Alibaba in China following a breach of the UK Biobank health information database.
The context: The data itself, while advertised for sale, was never listed and the advertising was removed before any transactions were able to take place.
In a statement confirm the breach on Thursday, UK Biobank said it found that de-indentified participant data made available to researcher at three academic institutions were listed for sale on Chinese consumer website Xianyu, owned by Alibaba.
Without identifying the institutions involved, the Biobank said the action is “a clear breach of the contract signed by these academic institutions and they, along with the individuals involved, have had their access suspended.”
The Biobank has also temporarily suspended all access to the UK Biobank research platform, while it puts in place a strict limit on the size of files that can be taken off the platform, as well as other security measures. It said it will conduct a comprehensive and forensic Board-led investigation of this incident.
“At least one” of the three datasets listed on the platform “appeared to contain data from all 500,000 UK volunteers”, Ian Murray, Data Minister, told the UK House of Commons on Thursday. Murray said the breach “was not a leak — this was a legitimate download by a legitimately accredited organisation”.
The Biobank hosts genetic and lifestyle information about thousands of volunteer participants, which has been used by researchers and medical professionals to help improvements in detection and treatment of a variety of conditions and illnesses. The charity has been operating for over 15 years and received funding from the UK government.
The sources: UK Biobank, FT, BBC
