UK: Health data volunteered by 500,000 people to Biobank charity listed for sale on Alibaba in China

UK investigates how health data of 500,000 Biobank volunteers appeared for sale on Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba. | Contesto: cronaca

Punti chiave

• UK: Health data volunteered by 500,000 people to Biobank charity listed for sale on Alibaba in China

Contesto

The British government has launched an investigation into how sensitive health data volunteered by half a million people to a charity for medical research ended up listed for sale on the Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba. Officials confirmed that at least three vendors on the site were offering access to the UK Biobank dataset, raising serious questions about data security and the potential misuse of personal medical information. The listings, which were active until recently, offered the data for prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, according to sources familiar with the matter. The UK Biobank is a major health research resource, containing genetic, lifestyle, and medical information from 500,000 volunteers who consented to its use for scientific studies aimed at improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide range of illnesses. The charity has strict protocols governing access to the data, requiring researchers to apply and be approved before receiving anonymized information. It remains unclear how the data, which is supposed to be securely stored and controlled, appeared on a commercial marketplace in China. The investigation is being led by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which has the authority to impose significant fines for breaches of data protection laws. A spokesperson for the ICO said the agency is urgently looking into the circumstances of the alleged sale. The government has also contacted Alibaba to demand the removal of the listings and to seek information about the vendors. Alibaba has not yet publicly commented on the matter, but the listings have since been taken down. The incident has sparked alarm among privacy advocates and medical researchers, who warn that such a breach could undermine public trust in health data sharing. Volunteers who contributed to the Biobank did so with the expectation that their information would be used solely for ethical research. If the data was genuinely obtained from the Biobank, it would represent a major security failure. Alternatively, the listings could be fraudulent, using Biobank’s name to sell fabricated or stolen information, but even that...

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Categoria: cronaca