Security News > 2023 > August > Northern Ireland police may have endangered its own officers by posting details online in error

A spreadsheet containing details of serving Northern Ireland police officers was mistakenly posted online yesterday, potentially endangering the safety of officers, given the volatile politics of the region.

The data leak involved a spreadsheet detailing the surnames and initials of all serving officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, plus civilian staff members.

The PSNI said that an initial notification has been made to the Information Commissioner's Office regarding the data leak, and that officers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the release of the data.

There are differences in the two incidents, of course, as the Electoral Commission's infrastructure was infiltrated by an unknown attacker, likely a hostile state, while the PSNI data breach was due to the unintentional disclosure of sensitive information by the organization itself.

"The majority of data breach cases we see are down to human error. This case is no different, highlighting the crucial need for better staff training on how to handle personal data to prevent such risks to employees," he said.

In a posting on Twitter*, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris said: "I'm deeply concerned by the data breach involving the PSNI. My officials are in close contact with senior officers and are keeping me updated." .

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/08/09/psni_data_breach/