 The name and rank of every single serving police officer in Northern Ireland has been exposed in a data breach 'of monumental proportions'. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he is 'deeply concerned' by the breach, while the Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) said its members are 'appalled'. 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. The data was potentially viewable by the public for up to three hours. Addressing the media in Belfast on Tuesday, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd apologised to officers for the 'unacceptable' breach. He said that once it was brought to the PSNI's attention it was taken down 'quickly', and that early indications were that this was a 'simple human error'. Mr Todd also said there were no immediate security concerns, but they were monitoring the situation. 'I understand that that will be of considerable concern to many of my colleagues and their families indeed, at the moment,' he said. 'We operate in an environment at the moment where there's a severe threat to our colleagues from Northern Ireland-related terrorism and this is the last thing that anybody in the organisation wants to be hearing this evening. The breach reportedly involves names, ranks and other personal data, but does not involve the officers' and civilians' private addresses, it is understood (Picture: PA) 'So, I owe it to all my colleagues to make sure that this is investigated thoroughly, and we've initiated){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
The name and rank of every single serving police officer in Northern Ireland has been exposed in a data breach ‘of monumental proportions’.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he is ‘deeply concerned’ by the breach, while the Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) said its members are ‘appalled’.
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.