NORTHERN IRELAND
The Northern Ireland Department for Communities has admitted a “human error” has led to hundreds of individuals being affected by a data protection breach.
In an apologetic email to those affected, the Department said the mistake was made by an employee in the Central Appointments Unit of the Executive Office, who sent out an email about two public appointments.
“Unfortunately, this email displayed the email addresses of all recipients and, as such, was not in accordance with Departmental data protection practice or guidance,” the Department said.
It said immediate attempts were made to recall the email in the mistaken belief that this action would rectify the error.
“These emails were sent accidentally and were due to human error, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused,” the Department said.
The private email addresses of hundreds of people were revealed in the communication advertising a vacancy on the Board of Libraries NI and other vacant positions on the Board of Ulster Supported Employment Ltd.
The clarification email sought to reassure individuals whose personal data had been mishandled by pointing out that similar communications were issued “on a regular basis without any incident or irregularity”.
The Department also said this was the first occasion an error had occurred, and the statement contained Departmental advice urging recipients of the email to “help us contain this incident by deleting it”.
A spokesperson for the Executive Office said the Information Commissioner’s Office had been made aware of the breach.
Belfast, 3 May 2018
