The UK data watchdog received reports of more than 9,000 personal data breaches last year but few generate debate, perhaps because the impact is not obvious or the population expect a degree of data loss as the cost of digital life. Two incidents this week will have made people think again.
On Tuesday, after a freedom of information request, the PSNI released a spreadsheet with data on more than 10,000 officers and staff. It was on the What Do TheyKnow site for about two and a half hours before the PSNI realised the error and had it removed. The same day, the Electoral Commission said cyber-attackers had accessed the names and addresses of anyone in the UK registered to vote between 2014 and 2022, equating to 40 million people.
The security threat implicit in the PSNI breach is clear, after the force's chief constable said dissident republicans claimed to possess some of the information. In February gunmen seriously wounded a senior officer in Omagh, County Tyrone. A PSNI board member said further attacks may follow in the wake of the breach.
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Denne historien er fra August 12, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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