An NHS trust is investigating how one of its hard drives containing confidential information was sold online.
The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust is trying to find out how one of its computers full of confidential medical information was sold on eBay.
Disposal of the trust's computers is carried out under contract to Siemens Medical Solutions, as part of a PFI agreement. Computer Disposals has a subcontract with Siemens to dispose of obsolete IT. All hard drives that leave the trust via this route should undergo data wiping which meets the government's standard of being overwritten three times.
The confidential data was discovered by researchers working on forensic data recovery methods at Glamorgan University. The university's research is sponsored by BT, which purchases 250 hard drives a year from places such as eBay and regional computer fairs. It then passes these to the university which attempts to recover data.
The research is designed to raise awareness in organisations of how easy it is to recover sensitive data when poor data-wiping processes are used.
The trust said that, together with Siemens, it has carried out an internal investigation into the incident and developed recommendations to prevent data from being left on unwanted hard drives.
"Unfortunately an investigation into how this particular hard drive has been openly purchased has not been able to identify the route at this stage, and the trust is continuing with its efforts to identify the source, including the possibility of theft," the trust said in a statement to GC News on Friday.
The recommendations developed by the trust include a change to the contract between the trust and Siemens concerning responsibility for the disposal of all IT equipment and the purchase of a degausser to ensure that hard drives are wiped before they leave the trust.
The trust board is expected to accept the recommendations when it meets later this month.
Sentry Posts Blog
Guarding the network
What you need to know — and what you and your peers have to tell us — about security management in our new community group blog
This summer a report from the Information Commissioner's Office highlighted a "horrifying" number of public-sector organisations that were guilty of careless breaches of personal information. It has received almost 24,000 complaints concerning personal information over the last year.
In one high-profile breach, an online recruitment system for junior doctors revealed highly personal information on application forms, including sexuality and religion.
Talkback
This leaves me astonished. First that it should happen. Second that it should be confidential medical records. And third that they have no proper tracking of disposals to be able to see how the hard drive left the hospital.
How can they possibly say 'it could be theft'? Surely they know whether this particular hard drive was stolen or not?
Hard drives have serial numbers. Each drive that leaves any organisation legitimately or by theft should be tracked using that serial number. It's common sense. It's standard business practice. It's clearly not being done by the hospital.
This one was caught by researchers. How many others have not been?
Before rushing headlong into more and more IT projects, perhaps the government should start making sure they and their various public sector bodies can get the basics right.