March 3, 2009
A recent report says that patient information is at greater risk from accidental disclosure through peer-to-peer networks than through the theft or loss of laptops and removable storage devices. The study, "Data Hemorrhages in the Health Care Sector," describes how Professor Eric Johnson and his colleagues were able to find thousands of records, including medical diagnoses, identification numbers, insurance information, and other data from medical institutions with relative ease.
An article in Computerworld states that Johnson said, "The range of health care information floating on P2P networks and the variety of sources from which it is being leaked highlight the disorganized and decentralized manner in which health care data is being collected, stored, used and shared."
This report confirms earlier studies, such as one on Kazaa, that show it is difficult to configure file sharing software to avoid inadvertent data leakage.