From infosecurity-magazine.com
The most significant data breach that has ever occurred in the history of UK policing was due to force-wide security failings and a “light touch approach” to data protection.
In August 2023, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) suffered from a cyber incident that resulted in 9483 police officers and civilian staff having their personal data exposed.
The breach occurred following the accidental release of data within an Excel spreadsheet following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. This revealed the surnames and initials of current employees in the service, their rank or grade, and the location and department they work in.