Covid-19: a computer breach leaks the test results of 700,000 people

A flaw on a site transmitting the results of Covid tests carried out in pharmacies to the government platform has made accessible the personal data and test results of thousands of people, revealed this Tuesday, August 31, 2021 Mediapart.

Thus, the names, first names, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers and e-mail address, as well as the test results of 700,000 people were available until Friday thanks to “a password which can be found, in clear, in a file accessible to all” on the Francetest site, writes the news site.

What is Francetest?

Francetest is a 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 where the results of Covid-19 tests are systematically recorded in order to “ensure that all positive cases are well taken care of” and to identify contact cases, explains the Ministry of Health on its site.

This platform, “manufactured by the 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 to enter the results of the tests carried out in the SI-DEP. Francetest thus invoices one euro per transmission, according to Mediapart.

“We’ve been alerting the authorities for weeks and weeks”

Sunday, the General Directorate 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.

“We have been alerting the authorities for weeks and weeks to these companies which present themselves as labeled and make it easier for pharmacists to go to the SI-DEP,” recalls Philippe Besset.

“We absolutely need the authorities to provide us with a tool allowing us to transmit data to the SI-DEP with our business software, which is safe and approved,” he insisted, specifying that even software authorized by the DGS no were not sufficiently secure.

Ongoing investigations

Informed by an “anonymous report”, the Cnil, French gendarme of personal data, told theAFP have launched investigations.

The Francetest company was not immediately reachable

Source: AFP

Has this article been useful to you? Know that you can follow Actu in space My News . In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.