Questions grow over safety of personal health data
New Zealand's blood donation screening process is changing to ask all donors about their sexual history, raising concerns about the safety of personal health data. The change comes after a recent data breach at Manage My Health, where hackers stole medical notes of over 120,000 patients.
New Zealand's blood donation process is changing, with all donors now being asked about their sexual history. The New Zealand Blood Service is implementing this change to identify risk and boost donor numbers. The move comes after a review into the Manage My Health data breach was completed. Hackers stole medical notes of over 120,000 patients in the breach. Charlyse Tansey, whose personal medical information was stolen, is now reluctant to donate blood due to concerns about data security. Joshua Bankers, Director of Digital Technology and Information at NZ Blood, states that donor answers are confidential and stored securely. Cybersecurity expert Jan Thornborough notes that no one is ever 100 percent fully protected against data breaches.
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