Investigation launched in France following medical data leak

The cybercrime department of the Paris public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the leaking of sensitive medical information of almost 500,000 people across France on the internet.

The investigation was initiated this Wednesday for “fraudulent access to, and maintenance in, an automated data processing system” and "fraudulent extraction, possession and transmission” of such data, according to the public prosecutor's office.

A file reportedly containing 491,840 names, along with contact details (postal address, telephone, email) and a social security registration number, was circulating freely on at least one forum referenced by search engines.

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These names are sometimes accompanied by information on blood type, the doctor treating the patient or the health insurance company, or by comments on the state of health, drug treatments or pathologies (particularly HIV).

According to the Checknews section of daily newspaper Libération, which brought the issue to light, the data comes from around thirty medical laboratories, mainly located in north-west France, and corresponds with samples taken between 2015 and October 2020.

(AFP)