The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) £750,000 for exposing the personal information of its entire workforce, which it claims has left many fearing for their safety.

According to the ICO, its investigation found that simple-to-implement procedures could have prevented the serious breach, which stemmed from an incident in August 2023, when personal information—including surnames, initials, ranks, and roles of all 9,483 serving officers and staff, up to the chief constable—was included in a “hidden” tab of a spreadsheet from PSNI’s human resources system, published online in response to freedom of information (FOI) requests.

The information was published on the WhatDoTheyKnow website for about two hours before it was removed.

Six days later, PSNI announced they were working on the assumption that the file was in the hands of dissident republicans, and that it would be used to intimidate officers, creating fear and uncertainty throughout the force.

The ICO said that the fine for the data breach would have been £5.6 million, had the commissioner not used his discretion to apply a public sector approach, apparently mindful of the dire financial position of the PSNI.

In the course of their investigation, the ICO collected complaints from people who provided candid insights into the anxiety and distress the breach had caused.

Those impacted said they now don’t sleep at night, fearful of every noise outside, worry about the safety of their families, and some have even left the force to take lower paying work, with one former PSNI officer saying: “I am…leaving the job that I dreamed of since I was a small child. To say I am devastated is an understatement but I feel I have no choice.”

Due to sectarian divide still plaguing Northern Ireland, many police officers keep their occupation a secret, even from family members. Police officers are often the targets of republican supporters, with the terrorist threat level raised from substantial to severe in March 2023.

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“It is impossible to imagine the fear and uncertainty this breach, which should never have happened, caused PSNI officers and staff,” said John Edwards, the UK information commissioner.

“A lack of simple internal administration procedures resulted in the personal details of an entire workforce – many of whom had made great sacrifices to conceal their employment – being exposed. 

“Let this be a lesson learned for all organisations. Check, challenge and change your disclosure procedures to ensure you protect people’s personal information.”