Massive security breach shakes London's Metropolitan Police

LONDON

In a major security breach, London’s police force has been placed on high alert after details of officers and staff were hacked, with all 47,000 personnel receiving a warning about the potential risk, it said Sunday.

The Metropolitan Police, as it is locally known, is investigating a data breach that occurred when unauthorized access was gained to the systems of one of its suppliers, it said.

"We have been made aware of unauthorized access to the IT system of a Met supplier," it said, adding that it is “working with the company to understand if there has been any security breach relating to Metropolitan Police data."

This incident has been reported to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

While the Met has not disclosed the exact timing of the breach or the number of personnel affected, it said the compromised data did not include personal information such as addresses, phone numbers, or financial details.

Rick Prior, vice chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents over 30,000 officers in the force, expressed deep concern over the breach, according to the BBC.

He warned that any misuse of this compromised information could have serious consequences.

The breach occurred just weeks after the Police Service of Northern Ireland admitted that it had unintentionally disclosed personal information of its entire staff of 10,000 individuals.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Northern Ireland police said they had inadvertently revealed the last name and first initial of both police officers and civilian employees, along with their respective ranks or grades, their work locations, and the units they were affiliated with.