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UpGuard discovered a data leak involving Liberating Research, a UK commercial market research and data-gathering firm operating in the medical sector. The exposed information included sensitive medical data concerning nearly 100,000 people, raising privacy concerns for individuals whose health information was held by the company.
UpGuard’s Greg Pollock notified DataBreaches.net on August 31, and both parties agreed to delay publication to give the responsible firm time to respond. The leak was publicly reported on October 13. The available reporting does not establish how the data became exposed, whether unauthorized parties accessed it, or whether the exposure has been remediated.
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UpGuard’s Greg Pollock contacted DataBreaches.net on August 31, with no year specified, to report the discovery. Both parties agreed to delay publication to give the responsible firm time to respond.
UpGuard discovered a data leak involving Liberating Research, a UK market research and data-gathering firm operating in the medical sector. The exposed information included sensitive medical data concerning almost 100,000 people.
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Multiple healthcare entities reported **unauthorized access and patient data exposure**, with incidents spanning direct provider compromises and third-party vendor breaches. **Insight Hospital and Medical Center (Chicago)** disclosed suspicious activity in its IT environment, with investigators confirming **unauthorized network access from Aug 22 to Sep 11, 2025**; the organization said the review is ongoing but potentially impacted data includes **names, DOB, SSNs, passport numbers, financial account data, treatment information, and insurance details**. Two extortion groups publicly claimed responsibility: **LockBit** alleged theft of ~`200 GB` and **Termite** claimed `360 GB`, stating it leaked data in late February 2026. In France, attackers stole about **15.8 million administrative files** after breaching health-ministry software supplier **Cegedim Santé**, impacting its *MonLogicielMedical (MLM)* product used by thousands of doctors; the stolen data reportedly included **identity and contact details**, and in a smaller subset (~**165,000** files) **free-text doctors’ notes** that in limited cases contained sensitive medical-history details. Separately, **OCAT, LLC d/b/a Evoke Wellness at Hilliard** updated a breach notification describing **unauthorized network activity** and potential access to patient information; reporting also tied the matter to an **insider misuse** investigation in which a former employee allegedly accessed and sold patient data, though public filings contained **inconsistent timelines** about when the underlying incident occurred and when it was discovered.
Jun 29, 2026
Additional confidential UK Biobank volunteer health records were posted on Alibaba-linked Chinese websites after an initial breach, prompting UK officials to warn that more leaks may follow and to work with Chinese authorities on takedowns. Science minister Patrick Vallance said three Chinese hospitals were understood to be behind the postings. The exposed information relates to the **UK Biobank** research database covering about **500,000 volunteers**, and access to the dataset was temporarily suspended after the breach was disclosed, reportedly by an anonymous whistle-blower. Officials described the leaked records as de-identified, but warned that combining large datasets could still enable re-identification. The disclosures intensified scrutiny of UK Biobank’s longstanding data-sharing arrangements with Chinese researchers. Earlier reporting found that **265 of 1,375** approved UK Biobank access applications came from China, and that Chinese researchers were permitted to apply for access to linked UK GP records through a controlled-access platform. Critics had already warned that health and genomic data could be strategically valuable for biotechnology, surveillance, and intelligence purposes, particularly given concerns over China’s national intelligence law. Separate reporting also pointed to at least **30 other UK Biobank-related breaches** in a single month, including a dataset on **96,000 volunteers** that was reportedly uploaded by a Yale University master’s student and remained online.
Jun 29, 2026
Multiple organizations reported **unauthorized access and data exposure events** affecting large populations, with several incidents tied to third-party systems or business associates. The Minnesota Department of Human Services notified nearly **304,000** people after a user associated with a licensed healthcare provider accessed demographic records in the *MnChoices* system (managed by vendor **FEI Systems**) beyond what was authorized; most impacted records were demographic data, with a smaller subset including some medical information and, for some, the last four digits of SSNs. Monroe University reported a **December 2024** intrusion with data exfiltration affecting about **320,973** individuals, with exposed data potentially including SSNs, government IDs, financial account information, and health/insurance data; notification letters began in early January 2026. Separately, Mid Michigan Medical Billing Service disclosed a **March 2025** cyberattack that exposed PHI for **28,185** individuals across healthcare clients, and VillageCareMAX reported a breach involving business associate **TMG Health** (details referenced as part of a broader business-associate breach update). Other items in the set describe distinct, unrelated security stories rather than the same incident: an underground-market sale of **Raaga** user data (10.2M records, including passwords stored as **unsalted MD5 hashes**), a settlement in litigation tied to the **Veradigm** breach (over 2M patients; **$10.5M** class-action settlement), and a **ransomware** incident at **Valley Eye Associates** where a group identified as **Qilin** claimed exfiltration (139 GB) and published data. Additional references include commentary on UK government handling of an **Afghan data breach** (spreadsheet emailed outside the MoD and use of an injunction) and broader analysis of healthcare breach trends and UK ambulance-service breach reporting; these provide context but do not describe the same specific event as the Minnesota DHS or other named incidents.
Jun 29, 2026