HIV clinic leaks 780 patient email addresses

A London HIV clinic accidentally published the email addresses of 780 patients, according to reports.

The email addresses were released when the clinic, called 56 Dean Street, failed to blind-carbon-copy individuals on a newsletter, according to the BBC.

A spokesperson for the clinic told the BBC the leak was caused by "human error." The mistake makes it possible for anyone on the list to share the email addresses and possibly identify people using the HIV services.

"We are so sorry this has happened," 56 Dean Street tweeted Wednesday. "We’ve contacted everybody who’s affected to apologise and offer support," another tweet from the clinic said.

When clinic employees realized the error, they recalled the email in an attempt to remove it from inboxes, according to The Guardian. They also sent out a follow-up email asking people who still had access to the newsletter to delete it and established a hotline for people to call with concerns.

The United Kingdom's Information Commissioner's Office, an independent body responsible for ensuring privacy rights, is aware of the breach and tweeted Wednesday that they are looking into the matter.

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