'Living in fear': Wife of Northern Ireland police officer tells of anger over data breach

The wife of a serving Northern Ireland police officer has told Sky News they are living in fear after a huge data breach compromised his details.

She said she and her husband already both check under their cars every morning “in case of any suspicious devices” and varied their routes to work.

In an interview with Sky’s senior Ireland correspondent David Blevins, the woman said she found out Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) had inadvertently published the information online in a text message from her husband on Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s just total disbelief to be honest that something like this can happen,” she said. “I was so shocked at what I was hearing and reading and quite frankly really, really angry that this has been allowed to happen.

“And I think PSNI is entirely responsible and somebody needs to be held to account for what’s happened here.

“Ultimately, in my opinion they have failed in their duty of care in relation to keeping their employees safe.

Northern Ireland police data breach: Why is the information leak so serious and why do some officers feel vulnerable?

Northern Ireland police data breach: PSNI officers left ‘incredibly vulnerable’ due to human error

John Caldwell: Three charged with terror offence over attempted murder of senior Northern Ireland police detective

“It would be bad enough if it was a small amount of people but given the fact it’s the entire workforce of every officer and every member of police staff it’s just totally unacceptable.”

The breach, published online for up to three hours in response to a Freedom of Information request, involved the surname, initials, the rank or grade, the work location and departments of all PSNI staff, but did not involve the officers’ and civilians’ private addresses.

Speaking anonymously, the officer’s wife said they do not talk about what her husband does for a living outside the family or their immediate circle of trust – and they will now have change the way they live even further.

“We will have to be extra vigilant going forward,” she said.

“Although our personal addresses haven’t been included in this breach, we already have to be careful about having that connection with the PSNI and because of that information now being in the public domain we have no control over who knows.

“We also have two young children to protect and there are still people out there who deem police officers and their families as legitimate targets so it just adds that further element of fear to our daily life.”

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

PSNI officers face a unique terror threat within the UK and have been targeted by republican paramilitaries in recent years. In March the terror threat level in Northern Ireland was raised to severe.

When asked: “So you’re living in fear?” she replied: “Effectively, yes we are.”

Read Entire Article