It was last week that the police in Northern Ireland released information about their employees to a member of the public. By mistake, a number of sensitive data were also included, including surnames and where they work – including identities of police officers who work with intelligence and surveillance.
The data was published on a public website and was available for over two hours, until the police discovered it and took the data down.
– I am deeply saddened by what happened, says Simon Byrne.
The information is with paramilitaries
On Monday, the police leadership confirmed that republican paramilitary groups also gained access to the data, reports say BBC. These are groups, such as the New IRA, which want British Northern Ireland to unite with Ireland and oppose the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended several years of violent conflict.
Police chief Simon Byrne believes that the leaked identities can be used to “intimidate or target police officers or employees”.
– We work around the clock to assess and minimize this risk.
In March this year, the terror threat level in Northern Ireland was raised from “severe” to “very likely”. Earlier in the year, a police officer suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot by a republican paramilitary group while on leave.