UK Biobank Data Leak to Chinese E-commerce Platform; Shih Chung-Liang: Amending Law to Strengthen Management
Following a data leak from a UK human database to a Chinese e-commerce platform, Taiwan's Minister of Health and Welfare announced plans to amend laws to include genetic and image data to strengthen data management.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 14:21
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 14:31 (10 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 14:34 (3 min after Collected)
CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY
(Central News Agency reporter Shen Pei-Hao, Taipei, 28th) Following the incident where data from a British human database was leaked to a Chinese e-commerce platform, cybersecurity issues have become a focal point. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-Liang stated today that Taiwan has strict regulations such as "data in, no data out," and will amend the law to include genetic and image data to strengthen management.
The human biobank is an important source of data for analyzing human diseases and health risks. The British government recently stated that de-identified medical data of 500,000 members from the UK Biobank was temporarily listed on China's e-commerce platform, Alibaba.
UK Biobank issued a statement saying that "de-identified participant data provided to three Chinese academic institutions was listed for sale on a Chinese consumer website under Alibaba." UK Biobank CEO Rory Collins pointed out that "Alibaba swiftly removed the sales information before any transactions were completed," and emphasized that these data do not contain information that could identify specific individuals.
Regarding this data leak incident in the UK, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-Liang emphasized today that Taiwan currently has 39 legally established human biobanks, both public and private, which are strictly regulated by the "Human Biobank Management Act." If data needs to be transferred abroad, it must be reviewed and approved by the competent authority according to law.
Shih Chung-Liang pointed out that Taiwan's human biobanks adopt a management method where sample data and personal data are stored separately and de-identified. Simple samples cannot reveal identity, and data is strictly controlled. In terms of management, Taiwan is relatively complete and has legal basis.
As for the much larger National Health Insurance database, Shih Chung-Liang explained that NHI data queries must be conducted in designated physical spaces under supervision, and with "internal and external network separation," making it impossible to access the system via the general internet. Researchers can bring data in for connection, but "data in, no data out," and ultimately only statistical analysis results can be taken out, ensuring that the original data is not leaked.
"The internal management of the NHI has passed ISO 27001 information security and ISO 27701 privacy management certifications," Shih Chung-Liang said. For large-volume data downloads, there are mechanisms for prior review, in-process supervision, post-event destruction, and auditing, and it adheres to the "minimum information disclosure" principle, maintaining personal privacy at every level.
With biotechnology and medicine having risen to become a national strategic industry, the Ministry of Health and Welfare proposed amendments to the "Human Biobank Management Act." Shih Chung-Liang stated that it is currently under review by the Executive Yuan and is expected to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan as early as this session. The focus of the amendments is to expand the definition to include genetic data and image data in the scope of management, and to stipulate that research genetic data reaching a certain quantity must be "warehoused" for management, thereby strengthening the security line of medical information. (Edited by Wu Su-Jou) 1150428
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(Central News Agency reporter Shen Pei-Hao, Taipei, 28th) Following the incident where data from a British human database was leaked to a Chinese e-commerce platform, cybersecurity issues have become a focal point. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-Liang stated today that Taiwan has strict regulations such as "data in, no data out," and will amend the law to include genetic and image data to strengthen management.
The human biobank is an important source of data for analyzing human diseases and health risks. The British government recently stated that de-identified medical data of 500,000 members from the UK Biobank was temporarily listed on China's e-commerce platform, Alibaba.
UK Biobank issued a statement saying that "de-identified participant data provided to three Chinese academic institutions was listed for sale on a Chinese consumer website under Alibaba." UK Biobank CEO Rory Collins pointed out that "Alibaba swiftly removed the sales information before any transactions were completed," and emphasized that these data do not contain information that could identify specific individuals.
Regarding this data leak incident in the UK, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-Liang emphasized today that Taiwan currently has 39 legally established human biobanks, both public and private, which are strictly regulated by the "Human Biobank Management Act." If data needs to be transferred abroad, it must be reviewed and approved by the competent authority according to law.
Shih Chung-Liang pointed out that Taiwan's human biobanks adopt a management method where sample data and personal data are stored separately and de-identified. Simple samples cannot reveal identity, and data is strictly controlled. In terms of management, Taiwan is relatively complete and has legal basis.
As for the much larger National Health Insurance database, Shih Chung-Liang explained that NHI data queries must be conducted in designated physical spaces under supervision, and with "internal and external network separation," making it impossible to access the system via the general internet. Researchers can bring data in for connection, but "data in, no data out," and ultimately only statistical analysis results can be taken out, ensuring that the original data is not leaked.
"The internal management of the NHI has passed ISO 27001 information security and ISO 27701 privacy management certifications," Shih Chung-Liang said. For large-volume data downloads, there are mechanisms for prior review, in-process supervision, post-event destruction, and auditing, and it adheres to the "minimum information disclosure" principle, maintaining personal privacy at every level.
With biotechnology and medicine having risen to become a national strategic industry, the Ministry of Health and Welfare proposed amendments to the "Human Biobank Management Act." Shih Chung-Liang stated that it is currently under review by the Executive Yuan and is expected to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan as early as this session. The focus of the amendments is to expand the definition to include genetic data and image data in the scope of management, and to stipulate that research genetic data reaching a certain quantity must be "warehoused" for management, thereby strengthening the security line of medical information. (Edited by Wu Su-Jou) 1150428
Choose to stand with the facts, every sponsorship from you is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and audio-visual content on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.