The claim
“Medical data on half a million British people was offered for sale on a Chinese website after a breach at UK Biobank.”
The technology minister's statement to the Commons about UK Biobank data.
Our verdict
Mostly True
Data covering all 500,000 UK Biobank volunteers was listed for sale on Alibaba, but it was de-identified, no sales are believed to have happened, and it came from a contract breach rather than a hack.
What we found
The minister told MPs three listings on Alibaba appeared to offer participant data, one covering all 500,000 volunteers. The data had no names or addresses and had been legitimately downloaded by three Chinese research institutions, whose access was revoked. The listings were removed. 'Breach' is fair as a breach of contract; it was not a cyber attack.
The evidence
1 of 2 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
How we checked
We checked the claim against AP via Daily Gazette, Help Net Security. We reviewed 2 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]AP via Daily Gazette · Health data of 500,000 members of a UK project offered for sale online in China
- [2]Help Net Security · 500,000 UK volunteers' medical data listed for sale on Alibaba
Have evidence we missed?
If you know of a source that confirms or contradicts this claim, send us the link. We review every submission and update fact checks when new evidence changes the picture.
Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.
All fact checks