AN invitation from Singapore’s National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) to a “Living with HBOC” event reportedly exposed the identities and contact details of people associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC). The condition can affect people of any gender and is heritable, meaning the disclosure could also reveal sensitive information about patients’ relatives and potential inherited risks.
The email was sent on 18 September, according to screenshots shared with The Straits Times. NCCS reportedly used the CC field instead of BCC, allowing recipients to see the addresses of others on the mailing list. Some exposed details reportedly included recipients’ names, workplaces and email addresses. One recipient, speaking anonymously, said the number of visible addresses was “too numerous to count” and estimated that more than 500 may have been disclosed. The supplied report does not provide details of NCCS’s response or confirm whether the incident was formally reported.