Current:Home > ContactNorthern Ireland’s top police officer apologizes for ‘industrial scale’ data breach-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Northern Ireland’s top police officer apologizes for ‘industrial scale’ data breach
lotradecoin liquidity provider benefits View Date:2024-12-25 16:27:19
LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s top police officer apologized Thursday 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.” Twenty-five years after a peace agreement largely ended the violence, many police officers continue to shield their identities because of continuing threats from dissident elements of the republican and unionist communities.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne told reporters that dissident republicans claim to be in possession of information about police officers circulating on WhatsApp following the incident, and that authorities are “advising officers and staff about how to deal with that and any further risk they face.”
“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,’’ Byrne said after he attended an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast.
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, location 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, as well as a police-issued laptop and radio.
The Police Federation for Northern Ireland, which represents rank-and-file officers, said Wednesday that it had been inundated with calls from worried officers following the data breach.
veryGood! (69)
Related
- Video shows 2 toddlers in diapers, distraught in the middle of Texas highway after crash
- Why Nicola Peltz Beckham Wasn’t at Mother-in-Law Victoria Beckham’s Birthday Party
- Trump could avoid trial this year on 2020 election charges. Is the hush money case a worthy proxy?
- Once estimated to cost $1.7 million, San Francisco's long-mocked toilet is up and running
- Kim Kardashian Says Her Four Kids Try to Set Her Up With Specific Types of Men
- Why Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger Are Facing Backlash Over Demolishing a Los Angeles Home
- Buffalo Sabres hire Lindy Ruff again: What to know about their new/old coach
- Sharks do react to blood in the water. But as a CBS News producer found out, it's not how he assumed.
- Biden to designate 1908 Springfield race riot site as national monument
- Aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan heads to the Senate for final approval after months of delay
Ranking
- Judge tells Google to brace for shakeup of Android app store as punishment for running a monopoly
- Below Deck's Captain Kerry Titheradge Fires 3rd Season 11 Crewmember
- In major homelessness case, Supreme Court grapples with constitutionality of anti-camping ordinances
- Youth group, environmental organizations sue Maine for action on climate
- Jim Harbaugh wants to hire Colin Kaepernick to Chargers' coaching staff. Will the QB bite?
- Stock market today: Asian stocks track Wall Street gains ahead of earnings reports
- Rapper Chris King Dead at 32 After Shooting: Justin Bieber, Machine Gun Kelly and More Pay Tribute
- Real Housewives' Kyle Richards Says People Think She Has Fake Lashes When She Uses This $9 Mascara
Recommendation
-
Traveling? Here Are the Best Life-Saving Travel Accessories You Need To Pack, Starting at Just $7
-
Without cameras to go live, the Trump trial is proving the potency of live blogs as news tools
-
Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst Details Mental Health Struggles in Posthumous Memoir
-
How Gigi Hadid Dove Into a Deep Relationship With Bradley Cooper
-
Wisconsin’s Evers urges federal judge not to make changes at youth prison in wake of counselor death
-
Celine Dion talks accepting stiff person syndrome diagnosis, first meeting husband at 12
-
'Extreme caution': Cass Review raises red flags on gender-affirming care for trans kids
-
Prosecutors cancel warrant for lawmaker on primary eve, saying protective order hadn’t been in place