The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has apologised for accidentally disclosing information about every one of its 10,000 employees.
The breach might result in “incalculable damage,” according to NI’s Police Federation.
The PSNI provided the names, bases, and duties of every police and civilian employee in answer to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.
The information was subsequently posted online before being taken down.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd apologised to the officers and called the mistake “unacceptable”.
The last thing anyone in the company wants to hear this evening, the speaker continued, is that our colleagues are currently under a serious threat from terrorism connected to Northern Ireland.
“I owe it to all of my colleagues to thoroughly investigate this, and we have started doing that.”
Republican paramilitaries have targeted Northern Ireland police; the most recent attack occurred in February.
Officers must be extra attentive about their protection due to the threat.
Many people, particularly those from nationalist communities, conceal their employment, sometimes even from large numbers of family members.
The PSNI was requested in the FOI request for a breakdown of every staff member’s rank and grade.
However, the PSNI also provided a spreadsheet in addition to a table listing the number of people holding roles like constable.
This included more than 10,000 people’s surnames, initials, and other information.
It seems to apply to every member of the PSNI, including Chief Constable Simon Byrne.
There are no private addresses present.