Covid-19: a computer breach makes the personal data of thousands of people tested accessible – franceinfo

A flaw on Francetest, a site transmitting the results of Covid tests carried out in pharmacies to the government platform SI-DEP, made accessible the personal data and test results of thousands of people, revealed Tuesday, August 31 Mediapart (article reserved for subscribers).

The names, surnames, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers and email addresses, as well as the test results of 700,000 people, were available until Friday thanks to “a password that can be found, in clear, in a file accessible to all” on the Francetest site, writes the information site.

Francetest is a private company founded last January which specializes in the transfer of data from Covid tests carried out in pharmacies to the SI-DEP platform. The SI-DEP (screening information system) is a secure platform managed by the health authorities, where the results of Covid-19 tests are systematically recorded.

This platform, “manufactured by AP-HP [Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris] in an emergency in December (…) is not very ergonomic “, explains Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF). Result: many pharmacists use intermediaries, including Francetest, to enter the results of the tests carried out in the SI-DEP. Francetest thus charges one euro per transmission, according to Mediapart.

On Sunday, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) sent an email to pharmacists to remind them of the software approved and compatible with the SI-DEP, of which Francetest is not part. Questioned by franceinfo, Philippe Besset explains, however, that he did not receive the list of approved platforms until August 18.