Internet and doctors' security – how exposed are you?

We have read with some concern on the College website the highlighting of personal information on electoral registers, its availability to the general public and the consequent security implications for mental health professionals. Members of the public have access to the edited electoral roll containing information such as home address, but as advised on the website, we can choose to opt out of this particular register.

Other than the electoral roll, doctors should also exercise caution as to how much personal information they divulge when using the internet and be aware as to how this information is shared and how accessible it is to others. The use of social networking sites has increased in recent times and search engines have become more advanced in seeking out information. When using them, extra security precautions should be taken.

Clearly, the more information we reveal and others divulge about us, the more information someone can use to build a comprehensive profile about us. This led us to conduct a qualitative study involving 18 mental health professionals from different disciplines of the same team. Each member was asked to conduct a basic internet-based search engine query about another team member. From the search results we listed what information could be sought about that person. None of the information we collected involved monetary payment.

The results showed personal information about team members and consequent security risks. For a profession that is focused on risk assessment, we are not as cautious in our private lives. We were able to ascertain information about family details including children, personal photographs, personal telephone numbers and home addresses, dates of birth, workplace information and in one case, particular information where and when that person was going to be on a particular day. We were even able to discover which books a member of the team had bought online and which ones they wished to purchase.

We believe this is all potentially sensitive information which could be used with disastrous consequences such as identity fraud, harassment, stalking or worse, acts of violence. We are not just making targets of ourselves but also of friends and family. As workers in a discipline where risk is continuously considered, we should exercise caution as to the information we share in our private lives.

We do not wish to act as killjoys, advising not to use social networking sites, but we advocate using extra steps to limit information availability and to seek advice on how to limit breaches of security. This advice applies not only to psychiatrists but to all healthcare professionals.