Northern Irish cops release 2 men after Terrorism Act arrests linked to data breach

Nearly 4 weeks aft nan Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) published information connected 10,000 labor successful a botched consequence to a Freedom of Information request, different 2 men, aged 21 and 22, person been released connected bail aft being arrested nether nan Terrorism Act.

The brace were arrested connected Saturday September 2 successful Portadown, County Armagh, bringing full arrests successful nan lawsuit to four. The arrests were linked to an investigation into nan state of accusation information breach connected August 8th, PSNI confirmed this morning.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Hill said nan unit is continuing "to activity toward establishing those who person accusation relating to nan information breach."

The breach was 1 of nan department's ain making. On August 8, it mistakenly published a spreadsheet pinch nan specifications of each serving Northern Ireland constabulary serviceman online successful consequence to a Freedom of Information (FoI) petition astatine nan opening of August.

The information spilled included nan surnames and initials of serving officers and civilian unit members, positive a listing of officers' rank aliases grade, specifications connected their location, and nan section successful which they work. Although nan accusation was removed respective hours aft it was posted, it could perchance endanger nan information of officers, fixed nan volatile authorities of nan region. The ethno-nationalist conflict raged for decades, pinch sectarian unit dying down – and paramilitaries laying down arms – aft nan signing of nan Good Friday Agreement successful 1998, but beardown feelings and occasional outbreaks of unit persist.

Both serving and precocious retired officers opportunity they look continuing threat from paramilitaries, pinch respective telling nan BBC soon aft nan breach that they're "always looking complete their shoulder."

On Friday night, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd said that a poster "claiming to incorporate specifications of 3 serving officers" had been placed adjacent a autobus shelter connected Chapel Road successful Dungiven, a mini municipality successful County Londonderry, connected Thursday, August 31. Todd said: "This was a clear effort to intimidate constabulary officers, unit and their families, but constabulary tin corroborate that nan accusation contained connected nan poster is incorrect." Cops are asking anyone who was driving successful nan area connected Thursday nighttime pinch a dashcam to travel guardant pinch footage. Detectives investigating nan placing of a poster person made 2 arrests, nan PSNI told The Reg.

The FoI disclosure log is currently unavailable owed to PSNI's ongoing reappraisal pursuing nan information breach. We've asked PSNI erstwhile requests tin erstwhile again beryllium made.

Altogether 4 arrests person been made successful narration to nan mistaken merchandise of nan FoI information truthful far. These see nan August 16 apprehension of a 39-year-old, nabbed connected suspicion of postulation of accusation apt to beryllium useful to terrorists. He was later released connected bail.

• More UK cops' names and photos exposed successful supplier breach
• Man arrested successful Northern Ireland constabulary information leak arsenic much incidents travel to light
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• Electoral Commission had internet-facing server pinch unpatched vuln

Two days later, a 50-year-old man was arrested and has been been charged pinch Terrorism Act offences. He appeared successful Coleraine Magistrates Court connected Monday 21st August, constabulary said, adding: "As is normal procedure, each charges will beryllium reviewed by nan Public Prosecution Service."

The Terrorism Act 2000 states that a personification commits an offence if they cod aliases make a grounds of "information of a benignant apt to beryllium useful to a personification committing aliases preparing an enactment of terrorism." It includes viewing, aliases different accessing by intends of nan internet, a archive aliases grounds containing accusation of that kind, truthful we'd presume nan force's techies are sifting done server logs while others lb nan pavement.

The PSNI breach kicked disconnected a afloat period of UK copshop information snafus and leaks. On August 14, Cumbria constabulary accidentally published nan names, salaries, and allowances of each of its unit and officers online; and connected August 15, England's Norfolk and Suffolk police admitted to exposing data. They said that owed to a "technical issue," earthy information astir crime reports had been mistakenly included successful FoI responses to crime statistic requests.

Most recently, London's Metropolitan Police said a "third-party" breach had exposed unit and officers' names, ranks, photos, vetting levels, and net information. While nan Met wouldn't uncover nan personality of nan supplier, according to The Sun it was an IT contractor who prints warrant cards and unit passes for nan force. According to nan paper, each 47,000 unit members and constabulary officers – including elder officials, undercover and counter-terrorism cops, and officers assigned to defender nan royal family – were exposed. ®