Monday, December 19, 2016

Major computer breach allows Americans into Canadian health system

(DISCLAIMER: In accordance with emerging information practices, and because this story will be shared on Facebook, I am obliged to point out that this is fake news FAKE FAKE FAKE. In case you didn't get it, this is FAKE.)

I am proud of my unsurpassed ability to provide Empoprises readers with stories that they will not get ANYWHERE ELSE. (Hint, hint.) So on to my exclusive story, which is extensively referenced (check the links).

The Canadian Health Authority (in English; the French site is Autorité canadienne de la santé) allows Canadian citizens to manage their health information, schedule appointments with doctors...and order prescriptions - including mental health-related prescriptions. Canadian taxpayers support this health system, which is obviously only intended for Canadians.

Fair use, Link

On December 12, the Office of the Prime Minister revealed the existence of a major systems breach that allowed non-Canadians to access the site and obtain prescriptions at Canadian prices. While refusing to disclose the details of the breach, the Prime Minister's office revealed that that the breach was operated from within the United States - a country with notoriously high prescription prices.

A few days later, Wikileaks provided the extraordinary details of the breach. It appears that a legion of hackers discovered that if a person entered a home address of "Ontario, CA," the system would automatically assume that the person was a Canadian from the province of Ontario, and grant all the rights of Canadian citizens. So Americans in the city of Ontario, California (some distance from Canada, and with much less snow) could snap up prescription drugs at Canadian prices, and no one was the wiser - until now.

Unfortunately for Canadians, the hack didn't work in the other direction.

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