 Police in Northern Ireland are investigating the theft of documents from a vehicle following a 'monumental' breach of data. Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd said police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft of a spreadsheet containing the names of more than 200 serving officers and staff. A police laptop and radio were also stolen from the private vehicle in Newtownabbey, near Belfast, on July 6. Mr Todd said: 'The documents, along with a police issue laptop and radio, were believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in the Newtownabbey area on July 6,. 'We have contacted the officers and staff concerned to make them aware of the incident and an initial notification has been made to the office of the Information Commissioner regarding the data breach. 'This is an issue we take extremely seriously and as our investigation continues we will keep the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Information Commissioner's Office updated.' The incident happened as the PSNI responded to a Freedom of Information request seeking the number of officers and staff at all ranks and grades across the organisation. In the published response a table was embedded that contained the rank and grade data, but also included detailed information that attached the surname, initial, the location and the departments for all employees of the PSNI. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd speaks to media about a data breach involving officers and civilian staff, at PSNI headquarters, in the Knock area of east Belfast (Picture: PA) The incident was first reported by the Belfast Telegraph, which reported that it viewed the uploaded material after it was contacted by a relative of a serving officer. Apart from the person who released the information, the PSNI was unaware the information had been released until they saw it on a){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating the theft of documents from a vehicle following a ‘monumental’ breach of data.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd said police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft of a spreadsheet containing the names of more than 200 serving officers and staff.
A police laptop and radio were also stolen from the private vehicle in Newtownabbey, near Belfast, on July 6.
Mr Todd said: ‘The documents, along with a police issue laptop and radio, were believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in the Newtownabbey area on July 6,.