DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

How Apple and Opera Mini just exposed your Medical Records to the world

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Dissent

Jared Houck dropped me a note to point me to this article he wrote pointing out a potential security risk when using Apple and Opera Mini:

…. We’re quite sure that the iPhone and iPad see some use in the health care trenches. So, we’re gonna go out on a limb here to suggest that many of those same medical professionals have downloaded the Opera Mini app and used it to check out your medical record. So…what’s the problem here?

The Opera Mini Browser displays web pages quickly by using data compression on Opera’s servers in Norway. Each web page you visit (yes, even those with encryption) is decrypted, compressed, and recompiled into Opera’s proprietary markup language. The information is then re-encrypted and forwarded back to you. While the to-and-fro connection to Opera’s servers is encrypted, the technical mumbo jumbo in the middle is not. Essentially, Opera can see/cache/log everything you do while using the Opera Mini Browser app – including every single medical record viewed through the Opera Mini app on an iPhone or iPad since Tuesday. And to the best of my abilities to understand the data encryption requirements from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), this is tiptoeing into some pretty dangerous waters.

Read more on Healthcare IT Squad.

No related posts.

Category: Uncategorized

Post navigation

← [CORRECTED] HHS proposes changes in system to implement HITECH provisions
Lost CD spurs hunt by NYS Department of Health →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni
  • Detaining Hackers Before the Crime? Tamil Nadu’s Supreme Court Approves Preventive Custody for Cyber Offenders
  • Potential Cyberattack Scrambles Columbia University Computer Systems
  • 222,000 customer records allegedly from Manhattan Parking Group leaked
  • Breaches have consequences (sometimes) (1)
  • Kansas City Man Pleads Guilty for Hacking a Non-Profit
  • British national “IntelBroker” charged with causing $25 million in damages; U.S. seeks his extradition from France
  • France issues press statement about arrest of ShinyHunters members
  • Patients Allege Home Delivery Pharmacy Failed to Timely Notify Them of Data Breach
  • Hackers breach Norwegian dam, open valve at full capacity

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Microsoft’s Departing Privacy Chief Calls for Regulator Outreach
  • Nestle USA Settles Suit Over Job-Application Medical Questions
  • NY Attorney General James Affirms Hospitals Must Provide Access to Emergency Abortion Care
  • How Internet of Things devices affect your privacy – even when they’re not yours
  • Sky Views Personal Data as a Potential Weapon in IPTV Piracy War
  • Florida Used a Nationwide Surveillance Camera Network 250 Times To Aid in Immigration Arrests
  • Federal Court Strikes Down HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.