Millions of Americans’ medical images and data are available on the Internet

Enlarge / Dislocated cervical vertebrae (traumatic lesion of cervical vertebrae C1-C2). X-ray in profile. (Photo by: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (credit: BSIP | GettyImages)

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Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the Internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise.

The records cover more than 5 million patients in the United States and millions more around the world. In some cases, a snoop could use free software programs—or just a typical Web browser—to view the images and private data, an investigation by ProPublica and the German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk found.