MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2023) The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) apologized for an accidental data breach, which left personal information of all its officers and staff members freely accessible on the internet for up to three hours.
"I do apologize to officers. This is unacceptable. In terms of the security for individuals, there is nothing at the moment to suggest that there is any immediate security concern," PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd said at a press conference late on Tuesday.
He explained that a "simple human error" was the cause of the data leak.
The officer said that the Names, ranks, work locations and other personal data of all police and civilian personnel were leaked, with the exception of their home addresses. The sensitive data remained public for around two and a half to three hours before it was taken down.
PSNI officers have often been targeted by republican paramilitaries in recent years, the Sky news broadcaster reported, adding that the terrorist threat level in Northern Ireland was raised to "severe" in March. Northern Irish lawmaker Naomi Long said police officers in this part of the United Kingdom had been left "incredibly vulnerable."
