 Dissident republicans are claiming to be in possession of information on Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers exposed in a data breach, the force's chief constable has said. Hundreds of police officers have voiced fears for their safety following the security leak which affected some 10,000 Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers and staff. Speaking following an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday, Mr Byrne said he is 'deeply sorry' over the 'industrial scale breach of data'. 'An early worst case scenario that we have been dealing with is that third parties would attempt to get this data to intimidate, corrupt or indeed cause harm to our officers and staff,' he went on. 'We are now aware that dissident republicans claim to be in possession of some of this information circulating on WhatsApp, and as we speak we are advising officers and staff about how to deal with that and any further risk that they face.' Mr Byrne was questioned for several hours by Policing Board members. Speaking after the meeting, the board chair Deirdre Toner described the situation as 'a very grave matter'. She said it 'will remain the focal point for board meetings with PSNI for many months to come until we are reassured that the recommendations from the review are fully implemented'. PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne arrives for an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board at James House in Belfast (Picture: PA) Up to 40 officers at MI5's headquarters in Co Down are reportedly among the names involved in the blunder earlier this week, with moves under way to ensure their protection. The Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI), which represents rank-and-file officers, said on Wednesday that they had been inundated with calls from worried officers following the blunder.){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Dissident republicans are claiming to be in possession of information on Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers exposed in a data breach, the force’s chief constable has said.
Hundreds of police officers have voiced fears for their safety following the security leak which affected some 10,000 Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers and staff.
Speaking following an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday, Mr Byrne said he is ‘deeply sorry’ over the ‘industrial scale breach of data’.
‘An early worst case scenario that we have been dealing with is that third parties would attempt to get this data to intimidate, corrupt or indeed cause harm to our officers and staff,’ he went on.