Revealed: Afghan data breach after MoD official left laptop open on train
Afghan data breach saw sensitive information left open on train
- The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has recorded 49 data breaches over the past four years concerning applications from Afghans seeking sanctuary in the UK.
- Incidents include an MoD official leaving a laptop open on a train and an "officially sensitive" email being accidentally sent to the 140,000-member Civil Service Sports & Social Club.
- These new revelations follow a "catastrophic" February 2022 breach where a spreadsheet with 33,000 lines of data, affecting 18,700 Afghan applicants, was erroneously emailed out.
- David Williams, the MoD's top civil servant, admitted the 2022 breach was due to a "lack of appropriate systems" and the absence of secure casework or contact management systems.
- Five of the 49 breaches were reported to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), which fined the MoD £350,000 for "blind copy" errors but did not investigate the larger 2022 breach.