Hundreds of MoD data breaches revealed as security questions raised in wake of Afghan data breach
Questions raised over MoD amid data breaches
- Hundreds of Ministry of Defence data breaches have been revealed, with 569 incidents recorded in 2023-24, an increase from the previous year.
- One significant breach last year involved the names and bank details of 272,000 staff being compromised after a contractor-operated system was hacked.
- The MoD was fined £350,000 for a data breach related to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, which exposed up to 100,000 Afghans and potentially British service personnel to risk.
- Lord Beamish, chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, has questioned why highly sensitive information was stored on low-security systems, expressing concerns about the MoD's data handling.
- Both the Intelligence and Security Committee and the Commons defence select committee are set to investigate the breaches, with calls for greater accountability and improved data protection measures.