5 June 2013

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries has confirmed today that dozens of patient records have been stolen, inclusive the information made public on the muggle internet. All missing records belong to werewolf patients, not all of whom were known to the Ministry of Magic.

Deputy Head Healer of  St. Mungo's Hospital Sandy Misslethorpe told the Prophet: "An investigation is ongoing to identify the source of the leak. We take our patients' confidentiality seriously. This is a malicious act against werewolves and the hospital."

The details of the leaked information varies. Some include names and addresses, describe Wolfsbane Potion protocols, and injury treatment records.

As soon as the Ministry of Magic discovered magical knowledge entered the muggle world, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes mobilized contain the breach.

"It's an extremely difficult job," said Mattias Kasprzyk, spokeswizard for Accidents and Catastrophes. "It's quite technical, but the muggle internet exists everywhere at once and information can be duplicated infinitely. Sometimes it's not possible to remove something and we have to work to delegitimize it. Basically, make it seem like the information is false so muggle will not believe it."

But the Statute of Secrecy issues are not the only top-of-mind concern. Despite legal protections for registered werewolves, werewolves continue to face discrimination. Many werewolves keep their status private for this reason, and many werewolf advocates report that being outed involuntarily can be dangerous.

"This breach of security indicates to the werewolves of Great Britain that our privacy isn't being safeguarded by those in power," reads a statement from the Werewolf Alliance. "It is for St.Mungo's and the authorities to prove their trustworthiness, to repair what assuredly feels like a betrayal to many of us."[1]

Perhaps more concerning is that the Daily Prophet can report that some of the records indicate the identities of unregistered werewolves, creating a legal quagmire not only for the unregistered werewolves but St. Mungo's as well. The Ministry of Magic cannot compel St. Mungo's to report unregistered werewolves and it is currently St. Mungo's policy not to.

Both the MLE and St. Mungo's report they are undertaking a full investigation. As of publication, no suspects have been identified. St. Mungo's is in the process of contacting any patients affected by the breach.

1.	Contributed by Nuri.