PSNI investigating theft of paperwork naming greater than 200 officers and workers
T
he Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is investigating the theft of paperwork, together with a spreadsheet containing the names of greater than 200 serving officers and workers.
The paperwork, together with a police subject laptop computer and radio, are believed to have been stolen from a personal car in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, on July 6.
It comes after the PSNI apologised for compromising the information of all 10,000 of their officers and workers in an information breach that exposed their rank, surname, preliminary, location and departments on-line for as much as to 3 hours.
We have contacted the officers and workers involved to make them conscious of the incident
The PSNI mentioned in an announcement that they’re treating the difficulty “extremely seriously”.
“Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft of documents, including a spreadsheet containing the names of over 200 serving officers and staff,” Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd mentioned.
“The documents, along with a police issue laptop and radio, were believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in the Newtownabbey area on July 6.
“We have contacted the officers and staff concerned to make them aware of the incident and an initial notification has been made to the office of the Information Commissioner regarding the data breach.
“This is an issue we take extremely seriously and as our investigation continues we will keep the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Information Commissioner’s Office updated.”
Police Federation for Northern Ireland chair Liam Kelly has referred to as for solutions following the contemporary revelations from police.
“This confirmation makes matters worse,” he mentioned.
“Clearly, urgent answers are required. How did this happen? What steps were put in place to advise and safeguard so many colleagues? How did this actually happen?
“The major security breach was bad enough but this heaps further additional pressure on the PSNI to produce credible explanations around data security protocols and the impact on officer safety.”