Cloud computing puts your health data at risk

Windows Secrets ^ | September 18, 2008 | Stuart J. Johnston

[brityank]

Cloud computing puts your health data at risk

By Stuart J. Johnston

The advent of "in the cloud" medical records services, such as Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health, promises an explosion in the storage of personal health-care information online.

But these services pose sticky privacy questions — unless you know how to protect your personal medical records.

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Private health data goes public by mistake

Part of consumers' reticence to sign up for electronic personal health-care records — with or without services "in the cloud" — has to do with a handful of recent high-profile data breaches. In April, the largest health insurer in the U.S., WellPoint, disclosed that records on as many as 130,000 of its customers had leaked out and become publicly available over the Internet.

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Consumer privacy may get lost in the clouds

Cloud computing is the latest buzz phrase for putting the massive processing power and storage capacity needed to provide ubiquitous computing out on servers located on the public network, or "in the cloud." Microsoft, Google, and many other online companies have embraced the idea.

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Wait, you say. Isn't there a law that keeps your data from being misused? Yes and no.

It's called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. Moreover, there are many exceptions to the law. Additionally, both Microsoft and Google claim their health services are not subject to HIPAA regulation, since they don't offer health-care services themselves.

[brityank]

Forewarned is forearmed -- Don't even think about using a personal health record (PHR) that's offered by an employer or insurer. These are the last companies with which you want to share all your personal health and daily activities.

More info at the link.

[Wiseghy]

Now that your personal prescription data is available to anyone with $15, the era of medical privacy is over.

HIPAA is now completely meaningless. The first thing an insurer or medical provider does is get you to sign away your rights.

This stuff about personal, self input records is nothing compared to your Rx data. It even helpfully comes with a “credit score” that predicts your future health costs.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_31/b4094000643943.htm

[Nervous Tick]

“The Cloud” — a fluffy white euphemism for the black truth, which is: Servers In China And/Or India.

(and/or other places that won’t give a damn about protecting your data)

I don’t currently use any of that stuff, not voluntarily anyway.

[anniegetyourgun]

Headline is misleading (wow - like that never happens). As you read the entire article, it’s clear that the potential risk is when info gets into the hands of providers - not at the MS/Cloud security level.

[brityank]

Well -- it's just as realistic as "Fog Causes Fifty Car Pileup" -- no?       ;^)