The head of the Northern Ireland police said Thursday, August 10 "deeply sorry" after data leaks exposing the identity of thousands of police officers in the British province where the police remain the target of sporadic violence.
Police in Northern Ireland said Tuesday that a document detailing the names and ranks of some 10,000 police officers had been mistakenly published online the day before and could be seen by the public for three hours. It also announced hours later that it was investigating a theft of documents, including one containing the names of more than 200 agents and administrative staff.
At a press conference Thursday in Belfast, Northern Ireland Police Chief Simon Byrne said he was "deeply sorry" after the "industrial-scale data leaks". "The worst-case scenario we envision would be that third parties try to obtain this data to intimidate, corrupt or even harm our agents and staff," he said. "We now know that dissident Republicans claim to be in possession of some of this information circulating on WhatsApp, and as we speak, we are advising agents and staff on how to handle this situation," he added.
Terrorist threat level identified
The terrorist threat level was recently raised in Northern Ireland after the attempted murder of a police officer in February by dissident republicans, groups hostile to membership of the United Kingdom who refuse to give up arms.
The data breach has raised serious concerns among police officers in the province, where police remain targets of sporadic violence after being regularly targeted during the three decades of the Northern Ireland conflict. The Northern Ireland Police Federation, which represents police officers, said on Wednesday it had been inundated with calls from concerned officers.
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They are shocked, appalled and fundamentally angry," Liam Kelly, the federation's president, told the BBC. "Our officers go to great lengths to protect their identity," he added, explaining that some police officers even hide their true profession from their loved ones.
They "work against the backdrop of the biggest potential threats, whether during or outside their service," according to Liam Kelly, "so it's important ... that the organization also protects them".