A4 Refereed article in a conference publication
Third-Party Privacy Data Leak Analysis on Ontario Hospital Websites
Authors: Kalyani, Tarun; Stewart, Justin; Yan, Yan; Rauti, Sampsa; Leppänen, Ville; Bhutto, Zuhaibuddin; Lin, Wenjun
Editors: N/A
Conference name: International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Artificial Intelligence
Publication year: 2025
Book title : 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Artificial Intelligence (PRAI)
First page : 878
Last page: 883
ISBN: 979-8-3315-7406-2
eISBN: 979-8-3315-7405-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/PRAI67447.2025.11412538
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: No Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : No Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11412538
This study investigates the privacy concerns associated with third-party data leaks on hospital websites in Ontario, Canada. The study employs both manual and automated analytics to investigate the privacy practices of 135 hospital websites in Ontario. This dual approach entails a thorough evaluation of websites while gathering and evaluating datasharing policies. The findings show substantial variation in datasharing procedures, with some hospital websites disclosing user data to third parties without explicit agreement, posing serious privacy issues. The study uncovers trends and abnormalities in data transfers, emphasizing the need for regulatory measures and enforcement to secure patient information. Furthermore, the findings highlight the critical need for strong privacy safeguards and regulatory frameworks in the healthcare industry. The study also makes practical recommendations for improving data privacy on hospital websites.