[AnimalMuppet]

If they're taking patient data for research without permission, they are not ethical researchers.

[sneak]

Is it really “without permission” if it’s from a server for which the access credentials have been deliberately published to the entire internet?

[AnimalMuppet]

If it's without the patient's permission, then yes, it is without the only permission that matters for medical ethics.

[wlonkly]

From the perspective of research ethics: it is very much without permission in that situation