this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2026
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Yeah mate i think it's fairly likely that many of us on here don't go around installing bullshit apps. I haven't been affected either.
The previous hack (manage my health) was not an app that people installed on their phones, it was a health management portal that patients were signed up to when they enrolled to clinics and practices that made use of that platform. These health providers used this as a database to store the medical information for all their patients. Molemaps, xrays, doctors notes, everything was uploaded, not by patients, but by their medical care providers.
If you're enrolled at a gp it's likely that your data is sitting in a similar system. MyIndici is an example I'm aware of, although it hasn't been hacked to my knowledge.
The concern doesn't stop with health apps either. Any third party data portal/platform is theoretically at risk, and kiwi companies love outsourcing risk to these private corps. Imagine the fallout from a RealMe hack, for example? It's no less likely at this point, and because of the lackluster regulation around these data platforms, they have no real incentive to beef up security. That's the issue here.
I think it's worth pointing out that the vast majority of the public lack the basic ability to protect themselves from vulnerabilities and are apathetic to the dangers of the act of installing random apps to personal devices, even those associated with legitimate institutions and services.
As for potential solutions, obviously legislative solutions are the way to go and would take much of the pressure off of citizens.
When the post is making the case for stronger legislation, and you respond by bringing up the individual responsibility of those affected, it certainly gives the impression that you are arguing against regulation and shifting the blame toward the personal failings of the victims.
Most of the people affected in this hack appear to be the elderly and disabled. Many of them do lack the ability to protect themselves, not through apathy or ignorance, but because they are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. I think it's important to approach these issues with compassion and understanding, rather than getting on your high horse and preaching to the choir.