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The leakage of sensitive information regarding individuals fleeing the Taliban to the UK has raised concerns about data security practices within the Ministry of Defence. Documents released by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) revealed that Ministry staff were warned against sharing information containing hidden tabs, which ultimately led to the inadvertent leak of almost 19,000 people’s details.
The leaked document, which contained names, contact details, and family information of individuals seeking refuge in the UK due to their association with British forces in Afghanistan, sparked an emergency resettlement scheme costing around £850m. Despite the gravity of the leak, the ICO raised questions about why the Ministry had not been fined for the breach, indicating that more needs to be done by the government to prevent similar incidents in the future.
An ICO memo highlighted that the Ministry was aware of the risks associated with sharing data and the need to remove hidden data from datasets. Hidden tabs in spreadsheet software, although a common feature, can render information invisible to the user but easily accessible with a simple change in document settings. The breach, which was initially shielded by a super-injunction, was eventually exposed, prompting discussions between the ICO and the Ministry on measures taken post-breach discovery.
Despite internal discussions within the ICO about the reputational risk of not taking action against the Ministry, the decision not to sanction the MoD was made to avoid imposing additional costs on taxpayers. The ICO emphasized the importance of identifying and rectifying the causes of breaches, learning from them, and ensuring that necessary improvements are implemented to enhance data security practices within the government. The Ministry, on the other hand, asserted that they had collaborated closely with the ICO, accepted all recommendations, and implemented measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future
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