A data breach has resulted in the exfiltration of anonymized medical records for approximately 500,000 UK Biobank volunteers, which are now listed for sale on the Alibaba marketplace. The specific attack vector and method of the initial breach are not detailed in the article. While the data was anonymized, the organization acknowledges that re-identification of individuals from the dataset cannot be guaranteed if it is misused.
Cyber-crime 4 Medical data of 500k Biobank volunteers listed for sale on Alibaba, UK minister reveals 4 World's largest biomedical dataset lifted and shifted on Chinese mega marketplace Connor Jones Thu 23 Apr 2026 // 12:34 UTC Breaking Details of volunteers of UK-based Biobank, which describes itself as the custodian of the world's most comprehensive biomedical dataset, are for sale on Chinese ecommerce site Alibaba. The organization confirmed the data on roughly half a million volunteers was anonymized, but could not guarantee it would be impossible to identify individuals if it fell into the wrong hands. The revelation came from UK technology minister Ian Murray speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday, with his comments delivered at the same time as Biobank confirming the data mishap. ® This is a breaking news story. The Register will provide additional information in due course. Share More about Cybersecurity Data Breach Health More like these × More about Cybersecurity Data Breach Health United Kingdom Narrower topics BBC Brexit British Armed Forces Center for Internet Security ESA Five Eyes Government of the United Kingdom London Parliament of the United Kingdom RSA Conference Scotland Zero trust Broader topics EMEA Europe Security More about Share 4 COMMENTS More about Cybersecurity Data Breach Health More like these × More about Cybersecurity Data Breach Health United Kingdom Narrower topics BBC Brexit British Armed Forces Center for Internet Security ESA Five Eyes Government of the United Kingdom London Parliament of the United Kingdom RSA Conference Scotland Zero trust Broader topics EMEA Europe Security TIP US OFF Send us news