National Cancer Centre email breach exposes patient data

ST has contacted NCCS and SingHealth for more information.

Sent at 7.53pm, the original e-mail invited recipients and their loved ones to the NCCS event scheduled for Oct 31.

Checks by ST of the NCCS website show that it is an invite-only event from 10am to 12.30pm and is for people living with HBOC and their relatives. It will feature an “informative session” and “interactive workshops”.

Various e-mail addresses can be seen in the screenshots. The sender appears to be a member of the NCCS Cancer Genetics Service, which provides genetic counselling to individuals with a history of cancer.

One recipient, who spoke to ST on the condition of anonymity, said the number of visible e-mail addresses was “too numerous to count”.

They estimated there could be more than 500.

They said e-mail domains identified the companies, foreign embassies and schools of those on the NCCS HBOC list. In the e-mail thread, they also saw a list of NCCS doctors, including their own.

“This effectively discloses each person’s association with hereditary cancer screening or counselling to a group of strangers,” they said.

“It ties identifiable people directly to a health condition, which is a more sensitive category of personal data than a typical CC mishap.”

The recipient was worried that people they had never met would know about their genetic condition.

“I don’t know who they are, whether they will pass this information to someone else, or whether it will come back to affect me at work or with insurance one day,” they said.

Adding that their children have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the genetic mutation and will need to be tested once they turn 21, they fear their children’s future employment and insurance prospects could be affected.

They said the NCCS attempted to recall the e-mail 2½ hours after it was sent.

The recipient has also informed the agency’s quality service manager and asked for a follow-up.

HBOC is an inherited genetic condition most commonly caused by mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. These genes make proteins that repair damaged DNA and protect against tumour growth.

The harmful inherited mutations significantly increase a person’s lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, as well as prostate, pancreatic and skin cancers.