Risk: Informational
Following two security lapses, the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) site was taken offline at the beginning of May. Furious junior doctors discovered that highly sensitive personal information, such as criminal records and sexual orientation, had been freely accessible by fellow junior doctors using the job application site.
Patricia Hewitt, Health Secretary, said: "There is no doubt that confidence in the application system MTAS has been further damaged by these appalling security breaches." She apologised to junior doctors and stressed that although applicants' personal details were freely accessible, she did not believe that anyone had accessed them. However, Emily Rigby, Chair of the British Medical Association's Medical Students Committee, said that members of the committee were not confident that applicants' personal information had not been accessed. The Department of Health has launched an investigation into the security breaches.