Details of Afghan interpreters leaked in ‘unacceptable’ MoD data breach

guest · Sep 23, 2021

Details of 250 Afghan interpreters leaked in ‘unacceptable’ MoD data breach
250 interpreters were accidentally copied into an email from the MoD, making their details visible to each other
September 20, 2021
https://inews.co.uk/news/250-afghan-interpreters-leaked-unacceptable-mod-data-breach-1209429

The email addresses of 250 Afghan interpreters seeking to relocate to the UK were leaked in an “unacceptable” breach, the Ministry of Defence has admitted.

The MoD said that more than 250 people applying via the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme for interpreters were mistakenly copied en masse into a Ministry of Defence email about their cases.

“We apologise to everyone impacted by this breach and are working hard to ensure it does not happen again.
“The Ministry of Defence takes its information and data handling responsibilities very seriously.”
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According to the BBC, a follow-up email warned the interpreters that “your email address may have been compromised”.

They told the BBC that some interpreters had mistakenly hit reply-all on the email, proceeding to send even more of their details to all 250 people on the chain.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace called it an “unacceptable breach”.
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guest · Sep 23, 2021

MoD in second leak of Afghan citizens’ data
September 23, 2021
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252507078/MoD-in-second-leak-of-Afghan-citizens-data

The latest incident saw the email addresses and names of 55 individuals, at least one of them a former member of the Afghan National Army, mistakenly copied into an email with their details visible to all other recipients. The email originated from the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (Arap) team.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace announced an investigation into the first incident in the Commons on Tuesday, and according to the BBC he had supposedly been unaware of the second breach at that point.
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On the latest incident, an MoD spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of a data breach that occurred earlier this month by the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy team. This week, the Defence Secretary instigated an investigation into data handling within that team.

“Steps have now been taken to ensure this does not happen in the future. We apologise to those affected and extra support is being offered to them.”
The MoD is understood to be taking all necessary steps under UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at this time.
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Kingsley Hayes, head of data breach at law firm Keller Lenkner, commented: “

But with two serious data breaches happening within days, and another breach happening only a few months ago when a member of the public discovered sensitive documents at a bus stop, serious questions must be asked about how such violations are allowed to happen.“

“All business leaders need to sit back and review how sensitive information is being shared and what support their workforce have to communicate securely,” said Klinkhamer.
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Details of Afghan interpreters leaked in ‘unacceptable’ MoD data breach

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