"Northern Ireland’s Top Police Officer Apologizes for ‘Industrial Scale’ Data Breach"
Northern Ireland’s top police officer recently apologized for what he described as an “industrial scale” data breach in which the personal information of more than 10,000 officers and staff was released to the public. The incident is particularly sensitive given the delicate security situation in Northern Ireland, which is still trying to overcome decades of sectarian violence known as “The Troubles.” The breach occurred Tuesday when the force responded to a Freedom of Information request seeking information about the number of officers and staff of all ranks and grades across the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The response accidentally included a table that contained the surnames, initials, locations, and departments for all employees, along with the information requested. A second breach that occurred in July was revealed Wednesday. That breach involved the theft of documents, including a spreadsheet containing the names of more than 200 serving officers and staff and a police-issued laptop and radio.