While organizations strive to balance accessibility with security and already take great matters into this, vulnerabilities still arise, which sometimes have significant consequences.
Data breach in Region Midtjylland was caused by an incorrect set-up in an internal project folder
Recently, Region Midtjylland faced a data security issue that has given everyone a chance to learn and grow.
On March 4, 2025, the region notified citizens about a data breach that occurred in November 2024.
While the breach was caused by an internal misconfiguration in a project folder, it’s important to recognize how this has been handled and hopefully ends up leading to efforts, which will make data protection even stronger.
The problem stemmed from a technical error that allowed more employees than intended, to access sensitive data.
This affected around 260,000 citizens across different regions. Thankfully, there’s no indication that the exposed data has been misused, and the region has already fixed the issue and is conducting further investigations to ensure full protection moving forward.
What’s important here is that this incident is a reminder of how valuable new technologies can be in strengthening data security.
Even the smallest technical mistake can have big consequences, which is why we need to be proactive about upgrading our systems.
This is a key moment to recognize how technologies like Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and Confidential Computing can offer a safer, more secure way to protect data.
Eliminating human errors with advanced cryptographic technology
In practical terms, this could help researchers do their work without ever needing to access personal patient records.
This reduces the risk of accidental exposure and mistakes in the access management systems, while also making sure that privacy laws are followed. On top of that, MPC can withstand cyberattacks, as the encrypted data is useless without all the pieces.
Confidential Computing adds another layer of protection by ensuring that data remains secure even when it’s being used.
The issue in Region Midtjylland serves as a valuable lesson for how we can continue to improve data security in healthcare. By adopting modern technologies like MPC and Confidential Computing, healthcare organizations can ensure that data is handled safely and responsibly. This not only helps prevent breaches, but it also makes sure that sensitive information is protected during research and medical advancements.
The technology is already here, and now it’s time for healthcare systems to use it. By doing so, we can create a future where data security is even stronger, and people’s privacy is always protected.
Enhancing secure computation with blockchain for transparency and access control
Although a secure computation system reduces the exposure of private data during analysis, it does not remove it completely; and although the sensitive data cannot be leaked directly, it may get leaked indirectly. This could for example happen if incorrect access restrictions are set with respect to who can interact with the MPC system.
A blockchain system can in this case be introduced, so as to further strengthen the overall system. While MPC would reduce exposure of private data during analysis, a blockchain would increase transparency.
Using a blockchain, any access to sensitive patient data - which itself would take place using an MPC system—would be written to an immutable log. Moreover, a blockchain would allow the administrators of the system to robustly manage the overall system through smart contracts ensuring that all nodes in the same system remain in a consistent state.
