No evidence of personal data leak amid national security probe: NHIA - Focus Taiwan
No evidence of personal data leak amid national security probe: NHIA
01/19/2023 06:34 PMListen
CNA file photo
Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) on Thursday said there is no evidence that three current and former employees stole data amid a recent probe launched by prosecutors into the National Health Insurance (NHI) system.
The suspects -- a woman surnamed Hsieh (謝) who is a division chief at the NHIA, a male NHIA employee surnamed Lee (李), and a retired NHIA chief secretary identified by his last name Yeh (葉) -- are being investigated for allegedly collecting and leaking the personal data of government officials responsible for national security affairs.
Due to the nature of their work, Hsieh and Lee have used their clearance to search and look for the personal data of multiple individuals stored on NHI system for over a decade, the health insurance administration said.
During this period, records show that the two logged into the system to search for 133,000 and 35,000 entries, respectively, but no evidence was found that indicated they collected and leaked such data, the NHIA said.
Meanwhile, Yeh never had access to the system when he was employed at the NHIA and therefore there are no records of him searching any data, it said, following an internal administrative inquiry launched separately by the NHIA in the wake of the probe.
All three were brought in to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for questioning early last week in relation to alleged breaches of the National Intelligence Services Act.
The investigation was initiated after prosecutors received a tipoff that Hsieh and Lee allegedly used their clearance as NHIA employees to collect and leak the personal data of government officials responsible for national security affairs from 2009 to 2022.
Yeh is alleged to have instructed the other two to steal the information over a period of 13 years, according to prosecutors.
A preliminary investigation by prosecutors found that Lee logged into the NHI system on multiple occasions to look for personal data belonging to officials from the National Police Agency, Investigation Bureau, and intelligence officers in national security agencies.
Tsai Hsiu-ching (蔡秀卿), director of the NHIA's ethics office, told reporters Thursday Hsieh alone searched about 100,000 personal entries of individuals stored in the NHI system between Aug. 3 and Aug. 8 in 2018.
However, the NHIA was aware of her activity during this period, likely for the purpose of statistical analysis, and not deliberately targeting officers working in national security agencies, Tsai said.
There is currently no evidence that these data were copied onto an external storage drive, she said, adding that the information gathered will be provided to prosecutors in their investigation.
The office director said the health insurance administration is working constantly to review and adjust its internal control mechanisms on information security protection to prevent data leaks, such as limiting the right to access important data for its employees.
NHIA Director-General Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) last week said Hsieh and Lee have been transferred out of their original duties and restricted from using their clearance to access the NHI system during the investigation.
01/19/2023 06:34 PMListen
CNA file photo
Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) on Thursday said there is no evidence that three current and former employees stole data amid a recent probe launched by prosecutors into the National Health Insurance (NHI) system.
The suspects -- a woman surnamed Hsieh (謝) who is a division chief at the NHIA, a male NHIA employee surnamed Lee (李), and a retired NHIA chief secretary identified by his last name Yeh (葉) -- are being investigated for allegedly collecting and leaking the personal data of government officials responsible for national security affairs.
Due to the nature of their work, Hsieh and Lee have used their clearance to search and look for the personal data of multiple individuals stored on NHI system for over a decade, the health insurance administration said.
During this period, records show that the two logged into the system to search for 133,000 and 35,000 entries, respectively, but no evidence was found that indicated they collected and leaked such data, the NHIA said.
Meanwhile, Yeh never had access to the system when he was employed at the NHIA and therefore there are no records of him searching any data, it said, following an internal administrative inquiry launched separately by the NHIA in the wake of the probe.
All three were brought in to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for questioning early last week in relation to alleged breaches of the National Intelligence Services Act.
The investigation was initiated after prosecutors received a tipoff that Hsieh and Lee allegedly used their clearance as NHIA employees to collect and leak the personal data of government officials responsible for national security affairs from 2009 to 2022.
Yeh is alleged to have instructed the other two to steal the information over a period of 13 years, according to prosecutors.
A preliminary investigation by prosecutors found that Lee logged into the NHI system on multiple occasions to look for personal data belonging to officials from the National Police Agency, Investigation Bureau, and intelligence officers in national security agencies.
Tsai Hsiu-ching (蔡秀卿), director of the NHIA's ethics office, told reporters Thursday Hsieh alone searched about 100,000 personal entries of individuals stored in the NHI system between Aug. 3 and Aug. 8 in 2018.
However, the NHIA was aware of her activity during this period, likely for the purpose of statistical analysis, and not deliberately targeting officers working in national security agencies, Tsai said.
There is currently no evidence that these data were copied onto an external storage drive, she said, adding that the information gathered will be provided to prosecutors in their investigation.
The office director said the health insurance administration is working constantly to review and adjust its internal control mechanisms on information security protection to prevent data leaks, such as limiting the right to access important data for its employees.
NHIA Director-General Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) last week said Hsieh and Lee have been transferred out of their original duties and restricted from using their clearance to access the NHI system during the investigation.
