Private health records of half a million Britons offered for sale on Chinese website
Summary
The UK government confirmed that health data from 500,000 volunteers in the UK Biobank project was offered for sale on Alibaba, a Chinese website. The data was de-identified, removed from the site before any sales happened, and access to the data has been paused to improve security.Key Facts
- The health records belonged to half a million UK Biobank volunteers.
- The data was found on three listings on Alibaba's Chinese e-commerce platform.
- The records did not include names, addresses, or exact birth dates (de-identified).
- UK Biobank holds various health information, including genome sequences and brain scans.
- Scientists and companies worldwide had direct access to download the data until late 2024.
- The UK government worked with Chinese authorities and Alibaba to remove the listings quickly.
- Access was revoked from the institutions that downloaded the data, but they were accredited and authorized users.
- UK Biobank has paused data access and is upgrading security measures to prevent future breaches.
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