Leakage of personal data of 700,000 people tested: what we know

The personal data and test results of thousands of people have been made accessible following a flaw in the Francetest software, which transmits the results of Covid-19 tests carried out in pharmacies to the government platform SI-DEP.

The names, surnames, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers and email address, as well as the test results of 700,000 patients were available until Friday, reveals this Tuesday, August 31 Mediapart.

And this, thanks to “a password which can be found, in clear, in a file accessible to all” on the Francetest site, writes the information site.

SI-DEP, a not very ergonomic platform

The SI-DEP platform (screening information system), where the results of Covid-19 tests are systematically recorded, enables positive cases to be taken care of and contact cases to be identified.

But it was “manufactured by the AP-HP (Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris) in an emergency in December” and “is not very ergonomic”, explains Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF ).

As a result, many pharmacists use intermediaries to enter the results of tests carried out in the SI-DEP. According to our colleagues, Francetest thus charges one euro per transmission.

On Sunday, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) sent an email to pharmacists to remind them of the software approved and compatible with the SI-DEP, of which Francetest is not part.

“We have been alerting the authorities for weeks and weeks to these companies which present themselves as labeled and make it easier for pharmacists to go to the SI-DEP,” recalls Philippe Besset.

investigations launched by the CNIL

“We absolutely need the authorities to provide us with a tool allowing us to transmit data to the SI-DEP with our business software, which is safe and approved,” he insisted, specifying that even software authorized by the DGS no were not sufficiently secure.