LONDON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police officers in Northern Ireland have been left "incredibly vulnerable" after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) accidentally made public the private details of every staff member.
The surname, initial, rank or grade, work location and department of all PSNI staff, numbering around 10,000, were published online in error in response to a freedom of information request on Tuesday.
"This level of data breach is clearly of profound concern, not least to police officers, civilian staff and their families, who will be feeling incredibly vulnerable and exposed tonight and in the days ahead," Naomi Long, leader of Northern Ireland's Alliance Party, said.
At a press conference held on Tuesday night at PSNI headquarters in Belfast, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd apologized for the data breach and said the information had been available to the public for approximately three hours. "There is nothing at the moment to suggest any immediate concerns to individuals' security," he said.
In March, Britain's intelligence agency increased the threat level in Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to "severe" -- meaning an attack was highly likely -- after a gun attack left an off-duty officer seriously wounded in February. The New Irish Republican Army (New IRA) claimed responsibility for the attack. The New IRA is one of the small militant groups that want Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and unite with the Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland police officers are still sporadically targeted by dissident groups in bomb and gun attacks even though a 1998 peace deal (Good Friday Agreement) ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland known as "the Troubles."
