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The UK government confirmed that anonymized health data from all 500,000 members of UK Biobank was listed for sale on Xianyu, an e-commerce platform owned by China's Alibaba. Technology minister Ian Murray told Parliament the charity was informed of the breach on April 20.

The UK government confirmed that anonymized health data from all 500,000 members of UK Biobank was listed for sale on Xianyu, an e-commerce platform owned by China's Alibaba. Technology minister Ian Murray told Parliament the charity was informed of the breach on April 20.

The data was accessed legitimately by three Chinese research institutions before being listed for sale. Alibaba removed the listings before any transactions were completed, and the three institutions had their access to the Biobank suspended.

The data was accessed legitimately by three Chinese research institutions before being listed for sale. Alibaba removed the listings before any transactions were completed, and the three institutions had their access to the Biobank suspended.

The listed data did not include names, addresses, dates of birth or NHS numbers, but did contain gender, age, month and year of birth, socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits and measures from biological samples. Murray said he could not guarantee 100% that no individual could be identified from the data.

The listed data did not include names, addresses, dates of birth or NHS numbers, but did contain gender, age, month and year of birth, socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits and measures from biological samples. Murray said he could not guarantee 100% that no individual could be identified from the data.

UK Biobank, a charity that has operated for more than 15 years, holds genetic, biological and lifestyle data from volunteers aged 40 to 69 recruited between 2006 and 2010. The project has contributed to more than 18,000 scientific publications.

UK Biobank, a charity that has operated for more than 15 years, holds genetic, biological and lifestyle data from volunteers aged 40 to 69 recruited between 2006 and 2010. The project has contributed to more than 18,000 scientific publications.

Biobank temporarily suspended all access to its cloud-based research platform and referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office. The charity also plans to limit file sizes that can be exported and to monitor daily exports for suspicious activity.

Biobank temporarily suspended all access to its cloud-based research platform and referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office. The charity also plans to limit file sizes that can be exported and to monitor daily exports for suspicious activity.

Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the Commons science, innovation and technology committee, said the breach "raises serious questions about whether lessons have been learned from repeated data breaches." Murray praised the Chinese government's "speed and seriousness" in helping remove the listings.

Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the Commons science, innovation and technology committee, said the breach "raises serious questions about whether lessons have been learned from repeated data breaches." Murray praised the Chinese government's "speed and seriousness" in helping remove the listings.

UK Biobank Health Data of 500K Listed for Sale in China

UK healthBiobank dataHealth Data of 500,000500K peopleListed listed for saleSale in China

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UK Biobank Health Data of 500K Listed for Sale in China

UK healthBiobank dataHealth Data of 500,000500K peopleListed listed for saleSale in China

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