Data theft: Police officers and staff not informed for month

Two 100 officers and unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland were not informed of the theft of idiosyncratic information from a superintendent's car for a month, constabulary person admitted.

Police said quality of the information breach successful Newtownabbey was relayed to affected individuals connected 4 August.

A papers containing the names of officers and unit was taken on with a police-issue laptop connected 6 July.

The constabulary said the quality of the missing information had to beryllium confirmed.

The elder serviceman remains successful his station portion the taxable of an probe into the nonaccomplishment of the items from a car parked extracurricular a retail complex.

This information breach is 1 of 2 specified leaks affecting information astir the employees of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The PSNI's information hazard absorption portion was archetypal informed of the theft incidental connected 27 July.

However, successful effect to questions from BBC News NI, it has emerged that individuals were not advised of the information leak, which could person compromised their security, until 4 August.

BBC News NI understands that what happened during the intervening weeks is being urgently reviewed.

The papers contained the afloat names and enactment locations of much than 200 officers and enactment staff. It did not uncover immoderate location addresses.

The laptop is password protected and its contents are believed to person been remotely erased by the PSNI. However, the constabulary person not said connected what day this was done.

A constabulary vigor was besides stolen.

In a connection connected Saturday, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd confirmed the constabulary were investigating the circumstances of the theft.

"Our Information Security Unit were informed connected 27th July," helium said.

"As determination was a delay, our Information Security Unit had to behaviour their ain enquiries to beryllium wide connected what close accusation could beryllium conveyed to the Information Commissioners Office who were past informed connected the 31st July.

"The precise quality of the missing information had to beryllium confirmed earlier we could pass our officers and unit connected the 4th August.

"We person worked with our Data Protection Officer and sought ineligible proposal and guidance to guarantee the accusation we provided to our employees was accurate."

The Superintendent Association of Northern Ireland (SANI) confirmed that 1 of its members was involved, adding that it was giving them "every imaginable enactment successful this hard situation".

The accusation released successful the archetypal information breach was accidentally included successful a effect to a state of accusation (FoI) request.

It included the surname and archetypal first of each employee, their fertile oregon grade, wherever they are based and the portion they enactment in, including delicate areas specified arsenic surveillance and intelligence.

It appeared connected the net for a fewer hours but was aboriginal taken down.

Mike Nesbitt, from the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and a subordinate of the Policing Board, said the PSNI had aggregate opportunities to halt the work of that information.

"It was my knowing from the constabulary that nary 1 idiosyncratic oregon so azygous section was liable for the leak," helium said.

He added that determination were "multiple opportunities for a fig of individuals to spot that the spreadsheet had a installation connected it wherever with 1 click you could get down what was connected your machine surface and entree each the root data, the names, the ranks, the positions".