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Computers That Had Patient Info Stolen From UK Hospital Site
from the privacy,-huh? dept
We were just talking about questions concerning the privacy of electronic healthcare records, and here comes the news out of the UK, that 30 computers potentially containing patient information were stolen. It's unclear how big the risk actually is in this situation. The site where the machines were stolen was a disused hospital site, and the computers in question were supposed to have been "cleaned" of any personal data. However, they were scheduled to be checked this month to make sure the cleaning actually happened, but the thieves got there first. It's unlikely that this particular loss will lead to any problems, but it does highlight the risks involved in storing such private info and how physical security can often be as important as data security when you're dealing with protecting the privacy of information.
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I work for one of the many IT depts in the UK's Medical Service. It must be stressed that information on patients that is identifiable is NOT stored on the work stations. We have specialist applications that communicate with secure servers over secure networks and access the information that way. Any work done by secs is stored on my documents which is set up on a remote SAN. The above is ridiculous scaremongery. Wiping the machines is protocol. Potentially is such a vague word. The media blow too much out of its proportion. 'Potentially you may die tomorrow...' bah.
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Disclaimer
They should add that to their privacy statement.
"Please note that we may potentially lose your data. Check your rectum."
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