Security News > 2023 > August > Man arrested in Northern Ireland police data leak as more incidents come to light

A man was arrested in Northern Ireland for suspected Collection of Terrorist Information following an incident where police mistakenly leaked details that identified 10,000 serving officers, but he has now been released on bail.

The information was leaked when police posted a spreadsheet online listing the surnames and initials of 10,000 serving officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, plus civilian staff members.

The info had been published in error in response to a Freedom of Information request, according to the PSNI. The force has now said that a 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of Collection of Information likely to be useful to Terrorists, following a search in Lurgan, County Armagh, on August 16.

The unnamed man was questioned by detectives who were said to be "Investigating criminality linked to last week's freedom of information data breach," but has now been released on bail to allow for further inquiries, the PSNI informed us.

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne had already stated he was confident that dissident republican groups, which have a history of targeting police officers, had obtained access to the data, which listed the rank or grade of all police staff, plus the location where they worked and in which department.

Details of a further data leak were also disclosed after the news of the spreadsheet became public.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/08/17/man_arrested_in_ni_police/