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The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) has apologised for a data leak incident involving 160 current and former staff.<\/p>\n
A document containing some of their personal details was \u201cinadvertently released\u201d to 22 people who had been invited to a job interview.<\/p>\n
The information included the surnames and first initial of all staff employed at PONI in May 2022.<\/p>\n
PONI has contacted the Information Commissioner\u2019s Office about the leak.<\/p>\n
It will also arrange for an independent review of the incident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In correspondence sent to those affected, seen by BBC News NI, PONI\u2019s chief executive, Hugh Hume, acknowledged the incident would be \u201cdistressing\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI apologise unreservedly. It should not have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The personal data was contained in a three-page Word document attached to an email.<\/p>\n
As well as names, it also listed what areas individuals worked in.<\/p>\n
In some instances working patterns were noted.<\/p>\n
One page of the document also had a list of staff who had resigned, were due to retire, or were on career breaks.<\/p>\n
The \u201cmajority\u201d of those in this part of the document are listed using their first name and surname.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo other personal information was contained in the document,\u201d PONI said in a statement.<\/p>\n
It added: \u201cThe Office has taken immediate action to mitigate the breach, including contacting those who received the document in error.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo date, 12 of the 22 individuals have confirmed that they have deleted the email and associated documentation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n