The Afghan data breach that exposed the details of more than 18,000 people was a “wake-up call” for the way government handles data, a security minister has told MPs.
Dan Jarvis, who oversees hostile threats to the UK as well as cybersecurity and crime in his job as security minister, said on Tuesday that there had been “significant change” across government to make sure civil servants know how to handle personal data well, and know who is responsible for oversight.
The Afghan leak, which potentially put up to 100,000 lives at risk from reprisals by the Taliban, was discovered in August 2023 and led to thousands of Afghans being secretly relocated to the UK. The breach came about when a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official emailed a spreadsheet with 33,000 rows of personal contact information to someone outside government.
The leak was hidden from the public and MPs through the use of a superinjunction and was only revealed afterThe Independent and other media organisations successfully fought to lift it.
Mr Jarvis told the science and technology committee on Tuesday: “I think it is right to say that the Afghan data incident was a big wake-up call and, as a consequence, we’ve seen quite significant cultural process change. But as ministers, we think it’s important to provide the leadership [on good data practice].”
Source: The Independent