Innovation and technology are key drivers of economic growth and quality of life in Hong Kong. Efforts to make the city an international hub for those sectors have recently been undermined by worrying data breaches. Authorities and organisations handling public data must strengthen digital defences against hacking and mishandling.
The latest incident involved the leak of data related to more than 56,000 patients and 1,000 staff members connected with Hospital Authority institutions in Kowloon East. Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog and police are working with the authority to investigate an alleged unauthorised retrieval of data and leak involving a third-party platform.
It is good that officers have moved quickly. The force’s cybersecurity and technology crime bureau seized dozens of digital devices from the offices of a systems maintenance contractor hired by the authority. On Tuesday, a 30-year-old man working for the contractor was arrested on suspicion of stealing personal data.
Confidence in the security of such systems has already suffered. Stolen information was available for download on an online forum for days after the authority went public about the breach, issuing an apology to victims on Saturday.
Victims have had their names, identity card numbers, genders, dates of birth and hospital visits exposed along with other information. They have been asked to remain vigilant about possible misuse of medical record data.
It was far from an isolated case of data being compromised. Last month, personal information of 6,800 current and former staff of the city’s prison authorities was leaked in a breach that the Correctional Services Department blamed on a hacker.
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