Man charged with terrorism offences after Northern Ireland police data breach
Man charged with terrorism offences after Northern Ireland police data breach
Fifty-year-old charged with two counts of possessing documents for use in terrorism or likely to be useful to terrorists
A 50-year-old man has been charged with possessing documents or records likely to be useful to terrorists and possession of articles for use in terrorism, in relation to the major Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) data breach.
He is due to appear at Coleraine magistrates court on Monday, the PSNI said.
Last week the force revealed that a document had mistakenly been shared online for about three hours, in response to a Freedom of Information request, which included the names of about 10,000 officers and civilian staff members.
Details released included the surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they were based, and the unit they worked in.
A 39-year-old man was also detained in relation to the breach after a search in Lurgan, County Armagh, on Wednesday, and was released on bail.
The PSNI also said on Saturday that it was continuing to investigate the loss of an officer’s laptop and notebook, which are believed to have fallen from a moving vehicle on the foreshore stretch of the M2 motorway in north Belfast on Thursday.
It emerged that missing sections of the PSNI notebook contained the details of 42 officers and staff. Assistant chief constable Chris Todd said those affected had been made aware.
Todd said: “Police are continuing to investigate the loss of an officer’s laptop and notebook. It is believed the material fell from a moving vehicle on the foreshore stretch of the M2 motorway, on Thursday 17 August around 4.15pm.
“The laptop was immediately deactivated and has since been recovered. No personnel files were involved. A significant amount of the notebook has since been recovered. Some sections remain outstanding and our inquiries are continuing to establish the contents.”
On Monday, the PSNI’s chief constable, Simon Byrne, said he believed the information was in the hands of dissident republicans. It followed the posting of documents from the leak on a wall near a Sinn Féin office in Belfast.
Many officers have expressed concern for their safety in Northern Ireland, where the current level of terror threat is assessed as severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.
The policing board, which has oversight of the PSNI, is to hold a follow-up meeting on Tuesday to receive an update on the data leak and to consider what further actions might be necessary.
Last weekend, the PSNI disclosed that in a separate incident on 6 July, a document containing the names of officers and staff and a police-issue laptop were stolen from an officer’s car parked in Newtownabbey.
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