A SOLICITOR has been appointed to lead the investigation into a Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) data breach which leaked the personal details of 160 people.
The breach occurred on August 29, 2024, when a three-page word document was “inadvertently released” to 22 people who had applied for a job at the organisation.
The document contained the forename initial and surname of all members of staff employed at that time, listed by the service area or team in which they work, the PONI has confirmed.
It also contained details of former staff members and staff movements – including “those who had resigned, were due to retire, were on career breaks, moving between teams, or new start” the organisation explained.
Some of those details included the full names of those being referred to.
“No other personal information was contained in the document,” the PONI said.
It was confirmed this week that solicitor Sarah Havlin will oversee an independent investigation into the data breach.
Ms Havlin, who is currently the independent assessor of complaints for the Police Ombudsman, will “investigate the process and actions which led to the breach occurring and interview all parties deemed relevant to the investigation”, the organisation has confirmed.
She will also review “the effectiveness of the immediate Police Ombudsman response to the breach” and make recommendations to helP the organisation prevent further breaches.
The investigation is expected to be completed within six weeks, at which point the report and findings will be published.
