National Cancer Centre 'deeply sorry' after email error exposes details of more than 460 patients
The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) has apologised after error with an invitation caused recipients' emails to be visible to one another, according to a statement by the centre on Saturday (Sept 19).The email sent out on Friday evening, comprised an invitation to 467 people to an event organised by the centre.Instead of using the blind carbon copy option that hides the email addresses of recipients from each other, NCCS used the regular carbon copy option.If a patient used their work email, anyone who received the message could see where they worked.NCCS chief operating officer Chong Pang Boon explained that it was an "administrative error" for their invitation to their Living with Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) event.The event is open to people living with HBOC syndrome and their loved ones, he added."Apart from email addresses, no NRIC numbers, phone numbers or other personal data were revealed," Chong, who is also the NCCS data protection officer, assured."We apologise for any anxiety this may have caused, and we are deeply sorry for the error.