Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority bars all contractors’ access to data after leak

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has suspended all contractors’ access to patient data after a major leak affecting more than 56,000 patients, and is considering barring the company involved from bidding for future projects.But the authority on Thursday declined to say whether it would terminate the firm’s existing contracts or discipline any staff, citing an ongoing police probe.The authority confirmed earlier this month that personal data of more than 56,000 patients at United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong had been leaked.The compromised information included their names, identity card numbers, genders, dates of birth, dates of hospital visits, and details of surgical procedures.More than 1,000 authority employees were also affected.On Thursday, the authority announced measures to strengthen system security. These included temporarily suspending all contractors’ access to patient data and deploying staff to supervise emergency maintenance and prevent illegal downloads.