Police officers stand outside the Grand Central Hotel, where U.S. President Joe Biden is staying, as he visits Northern Ireland, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 12, 2023.
REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File PhotoBELFAST, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's police force accidentally shared the names and work locations of every member of staff on Tuesday in a data breach it said would be of "significant concern" to officers who are often targeted by militant groups.
The information was publicly available on the requestor's website for around two-and-a-half hours before being removed, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.
However, officers' data is especially sensitive in Northern Ireland as many "go to great lengths and do everything possible to protect their police identity and role," the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, the representative body for officers, said in a statement.
While a 1998 peace deal largely ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, police officers are still sporadically targeted by dissident groups in bomb and gun attacks.
Persons:
Joe Biden, Clodagh, Chris Todd, Todd, Amanda Ferguson, Padraic Halpin, Matthew Lewis
Organizations:
Grand Central Hotel, REUTERS, Police Service of Northern, Police Federation, Northern, Thomson
Locations:
Northern Ireland, Belfast , Northern Ireland, Northern, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Belfast