Personal information of victims, suspects, witnesses leaked in Norfolk and Suffolk Police data breach
Learn More
A recent data breach affecting the Norfolk and Suffolk police constabularies has exposed sensitive information of over 1,000 victims in various crimes. Additionally, the breach included personal information about witnesses and suspect in criminal offenses.
Per the police, this breach occurred due to a "technical issue" involving responses to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests for crime statistics, spanning the period between April 2021 and March 2022. Apparently the data was included in a spreadsheet together with the statistics which are anonymous. Realistically, this event is a human error in attaching the contnet or not filtering out the content after an automation generates the spreadsheet.
The breached data encompassed raw information related to crime reports, including personal identifiable details of victims, witnesses, and suspects, along with descriptions of the offenses. A range of offenses were covered, including domestic incidents, sexual offenses, assaults, thefts, and hate crimes. The breach affected a total of 1,230 people.
While the data was not readily visible upon opening the files, it was unintentionally included. However, authorities clarified that the data was concealed within an Excel spreadsheet and required technical knowledge to access. There is no indication thus far that the exposed data has been accessed by unauthorized entities outside of law enforcement.
Efforts are underway to notify the individuals whose data has been compromised. The notification process involves reaching out via mail, phone, or in-person contact based on the severity of the breach for each individual. A dedicated support team has been established to address inquiries related to the incident.
