Last Updated on 22/11/2021 by Sanskriti
Following a data breach that revealed information of 250 Afghan interpreters who used to work with UK soldiers, the military has suspended one official, while a second breach involving another 55 people has also been disclosed.
The Ministry of Defence Ben Wallace issued a brief statement on Wednesday announcing the suspension of the unidentified employee, who is suspected of being involved in the significant data breach. He also apologized for the situation and launched an investigation on Tuesday.
“We have been made aware of a data breach that occurred earlier this month by the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy [ARAP] team. This week, the Defence Secretary instigated an investigation into data handling within that team,” the military tweeted.
“An individual has already been suspended while that work is carried out. Steps have already 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 BBC first reported the leak on Monday, which is believed to have affected around 250 Afghans who worked as translators for British soldiers in Afghanistan and now seeking assistance to leave the country. Many individuals whose data has been stolen have fled the Taliban’s recent takeover. When they were copied into an email from the Ministry of Defense, email addresses, their identities, and even profile photos were available to all recipients.
Worse, several users unintentionally replied to all of the contacts named in the MoD email, revealing even more information.
“Some of the interpreters didn’t notice the mistake and they replied to all the emails already and they explained their situation which is very dangerous. The email contains their profile pictures and contact details,” one interpreter, who received the faulty correspondence, told the BBC.
The BBC issued a follow-up story on the topic as the ministry said that the offending employee had been suspended, implying that the flagrant violation was not a unique event. According to the broadcaster, another email was sent to the interpreters earlier this month, containing the emails and identities of about 55 persons, which were visible to everyone who received the letter.
Read the full story on: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58654630
