2 arrested in Northern Ireland for police data breach

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Two men have been arrested as part of an investigation into leaked police data, Northern Ireland police said Saturday.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the suspects have been held during a search in Portadown.

Two suspects, aged 21 and 22, have been arrested under the Terrorism Act, PSNI said on X.

"We continue to work toward establishing those who possess information relating to last week's data breach, and will take action to ensure that any criminality identified is dealt with robustly to keep communities, and our officers and staff who serve them, safe," said Detective Chief Inspector Avine Kelly.

It was revealed last month that a data breach made available information about officers online for some time.

The breach, a result of "human error," occurred when the PSNI responded to a Freedom of Information request and mistakenly released a spreadsheet that included the last names and first initials of 10,000 PSNI employees.

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne later confirmed that the data was in the hands of dissident republicans.

Last year, the threat level was lowered from "severe" to "substantial" for the first time in 12 years but was raised again in March to severe.