John Caldwell

Police officers in Northern Ireland are frightened and their families and friends could be " jeopardised" after a data breach a former NI Justice Minister has said

Naomi Long said some officers would consider their futures with The Force .

In response to a freedom of information (FoI) request, The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) shared names of all police and civilian personnel, where they were based and their roles.

The Details were then published online.

They were removed a few hours later.

Speaking on Bbc News NI's, Alliance Party leader Mrs Long said there would have to be a full and frank investigation into The circumstances of The Breach .

" There are systemic issues here why was this data available to be issued in unencrypted form in The Way that it was, " She Said .

She added The digital footprint will be " almost impossible" to eradicate and her focus is now on making sure there is " adequate support for officers based on The Level of risk".

Northern Ireland police have long been The targets of republican paramilitaries -

The Threat to officers means they must be extremely vigilant about their security.

Many, especially from nationalist communities, keep their employment secret, in some cases even from many Family Members .

Speaking to The Bbc on Wednesday, Ulster Unionist Party politician Mike Nesbitt said he was aware of a Police Officer who had not been able to eat a meal at their mother's home for 10 Years due to The security risk posed to them.

The FoI from a member of The Public asked The PSNI: " Could you provide The Number of officers at each rank and number of staff at each grade? "

What they got back was not only a numerical table, but, by mistake, a huge Excel spreadsheet.

This Was referred to by The Police as " The Source data" and should not have been released as part of The FoI.

Everything which was provided under The FoI, including The spreadsheet, was then published on an FoI website, What Do They Know, on Tuesday afternoon.

It was removed after two-and-a-half hours at The PSNI's request, once they became aware of it.

The spreadsheet is 10,799 lines long.

Each line contains multiple pieces of information from The Top of The Organisation - Chief Constable Simon Byrne - Down .

It includes The surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they are based and The Unit they work in, including sensitive areas such as surveillance and intelligence.

The List also includes people on career breaks.

This might partly explain why The List exceeds The current size of The PSNI's workforce, but it's unclear.

Apologising to officers at a press conference on Tuesday evening, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd said The error was " unacceptable".

" We operate in an environment, at The Moment , where there is a severe threat to our colleagues from Northern Ireland -related terrorism and this is The Last thing that anybody in The Organisation wants to be hearing this evening, " He Said .

" I owe it to all of my colleagues to investigate this thoroughly and we've initiated that. "

The Chief constable is On Holiday but is being kept informed of developments.

The scale of this error is enormous.

It is probably The worst data breach in The Organisation 's 22-year history.

The consequences are a little more difficult to evaluate.

Had this contained addresses, it would have been catastrophic in terms of assisting terrorist groups target officers.

But The release of employee names could still expose individuals, many of whom take great care to keep who they work for A Secret , even, in some cases, from friends and family.

That The Information was published on a website for More Than two hours will add to concerns within The workforce.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he was " deeply concerned" by The data breach and that senior PSNI officers were keeping him updated.

The Police Federation of Northern Ireland , which represents officers' interests, expressed dismay and anger at The Incident , calling it a " breach of monumental proportions" which could cause " incalculable damage".

Police officers in Northern Ireland were regularly attacked by republican paramilitary groups during The Troubles and members of The PSNI have also been targeted in gun and bomb attacks in The Years following The Good Friday Agreement.

In February this year, senior PSNI officer Det Ch Insp John Caldwell was seriously injured in a shooting in Omagh, County Tyrone .

The Following month, The terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland was raised from substantial to severe, meaning an attack was highly likely.

The Police Federation has called for an urgent inquiry.

Its chairman Liam Kelly said: " Rigorous safeguards ought to have been in place to protect this valuable information which, if in The wrong hands, could do incalculable damage.

" The Men and women I represent are appalled by this breach. They are shocked, dismayed and justifiably angry. Like Me , they are demanding action to address this unprecedented disclosure of sensitive information. "

Mr Kelly added that it was fortunate that The PSNI spreadsheet had not given home addresses, saying that would have been a " potentially calamitous situation".

Bbc News NI understands The contents of The FoI have been seen by current and former PSNI staff.

Source of news: bbc.com