UK Health Records Breached: 1.8 Million

Some Incidents Resulted in Significant Fines
UK Health Records Breached: 1.8 Million

The UK's National Health Service had 16 breaches that exposed 1.8 million health records during the 12-month period ending in July 2012, the Daily Mail reports.

See Also: Are You APT-Ready? The Role of Breach and Attack Simulation

Some of those breaches have resulted in hefty fines imposed by the Information Commissioner's Office, which has the power to fine organizations that violate the Data Protection Act.

The ICO issued fines totaling £1 million during the one-year period, the Daily Mail reported.

Details on Fines

The largest breach penalty was against Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which was fined £325,000 for a breach involving hard drives containing healthcare information on tens of thousands of individuals that were sold on the Internet.

That fine has since been appealed by the trust on the grounds that they the organization had arranged for an experienced IT service provider to dispose of the hard drives and that it acted swiftly to recover the hard drives put up for sale on eBay.

In June, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in was fined £225,000 for a breach incident related to sensitive patient information that was left at a closed hospital (see: £225,000 Fine for Not Securing Records).

The Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust was fined £90,000 in May for a breach involving patient lists repeatedly faxed to the wrong recipient (see: London NHS Trust Fined Over Breach).

For reports on other ICO fines, see:


About the Author

Jeffrey Roman

Jeffrey Roman

News Writer, ISMG

Roman is the former News Writer for Information Security Media Group. Having worked for multiple publications at The College of New Jersey, including the College's newspaper "The Signal" and alumni magazine, Roman has experience in journalism, copy editing and communications.




Around the Network

Our website uses cookies. Cookies enable us to provide the best experience possible and help us understand how visitors use our website. By browsing databreachtoday.co.uk, you agree to our use of cookies.