UK Biobank to reopen platform months after 500k volunteers' data leak

UK Biobank says its Research Analysis Platform is now secure and awaits approval from health data controllers and the government before phased researcher access resumes. The April attack led to data of all 500,000 volunteers being listed for sale on Alibaba, locking out over 20,000 researchers.

• Data of 500,000 volunteers was listed for sale on Alibaba after the April attack
• Over 20,000 researchers use UKB-RAP, which holds about 30 petabytes of data
• Downloads will first pass manual output checks, with automation expected in 2027
• New rules add 2FA, 15-minute idle logout and block SSH access to jobs