DATA DISASTER

Patient privacy breached in ambo leak

THE private patient details of thousands of Tasmanians who used the ambulance service in the last two months have been posted online. Police have been asked to investigate the massive Ambulance Tasmania data leak, that includes patients’ HIV status, age and gender. Authorities are investigating the breach, which involves pager messages between dispatch and ground crews being uploaded to a publicly available website. Kathrine Morgan-Wicks, the Secretary and Head of Agency at Department of Health Tasmania, described the revelation as “very concerning”.

POLICE have been asked to investigate how sensitive personal and health details of Tasmanian ambulance patients have been published online in an apparent massive data breach.

A website of unknown origin – which was continuing to be updated on Friday – lists the details of every Tasmanian patient attended to by an ambulance since November.

The information from pager messages includes names, addresses and health information.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney said she was very concerned that patients’ information had appeared online.

“The matter of how this data interception from the fire and ambulance paging system has occurred has been referred to Tasmania Police,” Ms Courtney said.

“Appropriate steps have been taken by Ambulance Tasmania to limit the transmission of personal information via the paging system, balanced against the need to ensure patient and staff safety.

“It is my understanding that access to the site has been blocked. This is an extremely concerning matter that will be further investigated, however I would like to reassure the Tasmanian community that it is safe to call triple-0 in an emergency.”

Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said she became aware of the website on Friday.

Health and Community Services Union state secretary Tim Jacobson said the publication of the data was “a terrible breach of privacy”.

“What it shows is every case stretching back to November last year that’s paged for Ambulance Tasmania and Tasmania Fire Service. Not only that but the personal details of the case, the health status of the individual and the address and some pretty horrific information about HIV status and some cases of potential suicide,” Mr Jacobson said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Sarah Lovell called on the government to come clean about when the breach became known.

“It’s inconceivable it could have gone undetected for all this time,” Ms Lovell said.