Tag: NHS
The Medical Cloud
A new Cloud base platform has just been launched by the NHS in order to allow secure access to medical records. The idea is to speed up communication between patients, consultants and general practitioners through accessing files through the internet. Patients will have the ability to view their data via a number of devices and control exactly who has access to their records. Furthermore they can request to have their …
BMA questions restructuring of NHS data access and availability
Following the news that the UK government is planning to instigate significant reforms to the way in which the NHS makes data available to patients and practitioners, the British Medical Association (BMA) has spoken out over its concerns that the current IT infrastructure will be unable to keep pace with the required changes. A period of consultation by the government led to the germination of the movement that is set …
Data harvesting concerns voiced over NHS Choices website
Fears that the NHS Choices website is allowing data about visitors to be gathered by social networking sites and third party firms, have been voiced to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which has begun investigating the claims. Analysis of the privacy policy which governs visitors to the site shows that anyone who lands on a page that has a Facebook element embedded, will have data relating to their visit and …
NHS to hand control of private data over to patients
In a radical new initiative, the government could completely alter the way in which data relating to NHS patients is controlled, giving individual citizens the right to monitor and limit access to their own information, rather than leaving it in the direct care of the health service. This news has been made public as part of a white paper published with the aim of creating a revolutionary new way of …
Fines issued over NHS data loss
Fines are being issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), after it found the NHS-regulated Healthcare Locums agency to have been in breach of the rules of the Data Protection Act (DPA), with regards to data loss prevention and information security. The agency in question was responsible for large amounts of data relating to doctors working for the NHS and the ICO implemented fines after a data loss incident exposed …
NHS admits further data loss via unencrypted USB storage device
A new data loss scandal originating from within one of the organisations governed by the NHS has come to light, once more involving the misplacement and subsequent discovery of a portable USB memory stick which was entirely exposed due to a lack of encryption. Members of the Forth Valley NHS board are being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), after the media was made aware of the loss. It …
NHS criticised for data loss false alarm
It has been revealed that the NHS spent thousands of pounds and hours of staff time looking for a portable storage device that it thought was lost or stolen, but which was eventually found to be safe and untouched. In Scotland the Lothians hospital administration was sent into high alert when it was discovered that an SD memory card from a digital camera was no longer where a member of …
NHS security compromised by botnet infection
The NHS has been the latest institution to be the target of a security breach after it emerged that Qakbot had been used to infect computer systems within the organisation. Over 1100 PCs have been infected with the botnet virus, according to security vendor Symantec. It is believed that this particular infection is able to harvest various sensitive pieces of data, including the login details of any users who have …
