Laptop theft

Laptop stolen from NHS containing 8 million patient details

16.06.2011

An unencrypted laptop, containing the details of more than 8 million patients, has been reported stolen from a city health authority.

The computer went missing from a storeroom at the London Health Programmes, a research department at NHS North Central London, and represents the biggest ever security breach of its kind. According to The Sun, It contained information on 8.63 million people, and records of 18 million hospital visits, operations and procedures.

The machine was one of 20 laptops that vanished from the site three weeks ago, and has only recently been reported to the police. Only eight of these computers is believed to have been recovered so far.

In a statement, a representative from NHS North Central London said: “One of the machines was used for analysing health needs requiring access to elements of unnamed patient data. All the laptops were password protected, and our policy is to manually delete the data from laptops after the records have been processed."

Although the data is said not to include patient names, records do contain details of cancer, HIV, mental illness and abortions that could be used by blackmailers. It is reported that postcodes and information on gender, age and ethnic origins, that could potential identify individuals, were also held on the laptop.

It is still unclear whether the machines were stolen, mislaid or dumped, although the case has been reported to police as laptop theft.

To read our thoughts on the issue, and to find laptop security tips on how NHS professionals can protect their laptops from theft, see our comments on PublicService.co.uk http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=16782

Sources: The Sun, Information-Age.com