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posted by martyb on Thursday September 03 2015, @12:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the must-not-have-used-gmail dept.

The BBC News reports that:

The 56 Dean Street clinic in London's Soho sent out the names and email addresses of 780 patients when a newsletter was issued to people who attend the clinic. Patients were supposed to be blind-copied into the email but instead details were sent as a group email.

From an interview with one patient:

One man, a 40-year-old public sector worker, has been HIV positive for 13 years and has been using the Dean Street clinic for five. He said: "I felt sick when I realised what had happened. I first saw the email at work but ignored it as I was busy. I then looked at it when I was on the way home from work. I couldn't breathe. I'm concerned who will get this information. If it ends up in the hands of the wrong people, such as hate groups, it could be dynamite."

Further:

Fellow patient James ... said: "I was travelling back from the pride parade in Manchester on Monday when I received this email. I couldn't believe it when I got it and I've been full of worry since. I am not ready to disclose my HIV status to my wider friends or family. I fear now that I have no choice."

Finally, a friend informs me that a breach of privacy at another clinic may be widely reported within the next few days.


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  • (Score: 2) by Gravis on Thursday September 03 2015, @08:53PM

    by Gravis (4596) on Thursday September 03 2015, @08:53PM (#231965)

    I'm concerned who will get this information. If it ends up in the hands of the wrong people, such as hate groups, it could be dynamite."

    while it is disconcerting that people lack the basic understanding of email, unless i'm missing something, everyone that got the email has HIV and this is not inclined to share the contents of the list. if you want to minimize the possibility of exposure, then BCC everyone on the list to delete the previous email for security reasons. sure, some that get the request will be too stupid to understand but it drastically reduces the number of computers with the information.

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 03 2015, @08:58PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 03 2015, @08:58PM (#231967)

    > everyone that got the email has HIV and this is not inclined to share the contents of the list.

    (1) No, just people who have gone to the clinic and signed up for email newsletters.
    (2) Even if that were true, that would be terribly brittle. In case you haven't noticed, the internet makes it super easy to be anonymous. Gravis is your legal name, right?

  • (Score: 2) by cafebabe on Monday September 14 2015, @08:23AM

    by cafebabe (894) on Monday September 14 2015, @08:23AM (#236167) Journal

    I assume that the list has been distributed because journalists interviewed three or more of the people affected. One of the people affected didn't seem very forthcoming.

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