In March, the multi-billion-dollar pornography industry may have been the victim of a major data breach that underscores the concerns that many have regarding the health care industry's transition to digital medical records. Though the source remains uncertain, PornWikiLeaks.com posted the names, stage names and birth dates of more than 12,000 current and former adult video performers, some of whom also had the results of their HIV tests revealed. Due to the nature of the information, many have suspected that the breach occurred at AIM Medical Center, a Sherman Oaks, California, health clinic where the majority of industry workers are tested for STDs. For the clinic, which launched an investigation into the matter, this could be a serious violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, not to mention a reputational black eye from which it may not be able to recover. Regardless of where the info came from, the episode shows that health records are not immune to data breaches. And that is what has so many privacy advocates worried about a future in which all patient records-not just those of porn stars--are stored digitally instead of in file cabinets.
