computer break-ins are becoming more common, thus storing medical information online can cause fear of the exposure of health information to unauthorized individuals. In addition to height, weight, blood pressure and other quantitative information about a patient's physical body, medical records can reveal very sensitive information. This includes fertility, surgical procedures, emotional and psychological disorders, and diseases, which many patients are reluctant to share even voluntarily. Various threats exist to patient information confidentiality: Accidental disclosure During multiple electronic transfers of data to various entities, medical personnel can make innocent mistakes to cause disclosure of data. Insider curiosity Medical personnel may misuse their access to patient information out of curiosity or for another purpose. Insider subordination Medical personnel may leak out personal medical information for spite, profit, revenge, or other purposes. Uncontrolled secondary usage Those who are granted access to patient information solely for the purpose of supporting primary care can exploit that permission for reasons not listed in the contract, such as research. Outsider intrusion Former employees, network intruders, hackers, or others may access and steal information, steal hardware, damage systems, and disrupt operations. Technological and regulatory issues play important roles in the privacy, security, and patient concerns surrounding PHI. On the technological side, failures occur at numerous points: breach of a patient data server connected to other unsecure systems phishing and hacks of company email accounts breach of a misconfigured public-facing server theft of unencrypted computing devices malware intentionally or accidentally installed on a server The state of PHR regulations are also worth mentioning. A 2018 review and comparison of five legislative jurisdictions around the world found "considerable variances with regards to legal terminology and the degree of compliance required from entities offering PHR services across various jurisdictions." Even in the European Union, which provides some of the most significant protections to PHR data through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the reviewers found "significant room for interpretation and a degree of ambiguity in key areas." With further questions arising about the security and privacy of PHI that makes its ways to expanding platforms such as smartphones and associated applications, clearer regulations and policies will likely be required. In public health PHRs have the potential to benefit the public health sector in areas such as health monitoring, outbreak monitoring, empowerment through information and resources, linking to services, and research. However, tapping into this potential has been a slow process