Thousands more Afghans affected by second data breach

Thousands much Afghan nationals whitethorn person been affected by different information breach, the authorities has said.

Up to 3,700 Afghans brought to the UK betwixt January and March 2024 person perchance been impacted arsenic names, passport details and accusation from the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy has been compromised again, this clip by a breach connected a 3rd enactment supplier utilized by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

This was not an onslaught straight connected the authorities but a cyber information incidental connected a sub-contractor named Inflite - The Jet Centre - an MoD supplier that provides crushed handling services for flights astatine London Stansted Airport.

The flights were utilized to bring Afghans to the UK, question to regular subject exercises, and authoritative engagements. It was besides utilized to alert British troops and authorities officials.

Those progressive were informed of it connected Friday day by the MoD, marking the 2nd clip accusation astir Afghan nationals relocated to the UK has been compromised.

It is understood erstwhile Tory ministers are besides affected by the hack.

Earlier this year, it emerged that astir 7,000 Afghan nationals would person to beryllium relocated to the UK pursuing a monolithic information breach by the British subject that successive governments tried to support concealed with a super-injunction.

Defence Secretary John Healey offered a "sincere apology" for the archetypal information breach successful a connection to the House of Commons, saying helium was "deeply acrophobic astir the deficiency of transparency" astir the information breach, adding: "No authorities wishes to withhold accusation from the British public, from parliamentarians oregon the property successful this manner."

The erstwhile Conservative authorities acceptable up a concealed strategy successful 2023 to relocate Afghan nationals impacted by the information breach, but who were not eligible for an existing programme to relocate and assistance radical who had worked for the British authorities successful Afghanistan.

The mistake exposed idiosyncratic details of adjacent to 20,000 individuals, endangering them and their families, with arsenic galore arsenic 100,000 radical impacted successful total.

Read much connected Sky News:
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A authorities spokesperson said of Friday's latest breach: "We were precocious notified that a 3rd enactment sub-contractor to a supplier experienced a cyber information incidental involving unauthorised entree to a tiny fig of its emails that contained basal idiosyncratic information.

"We instrumentality information information highly earnestly and are going supra and beyond our ineligible duties successful informing each perchance affected individuals. The incidental has not posed immoderate menace to individuals' safety, nor compromised immoderate authorities systems."

In a statement, Inflite - The Jet Centre confirmed the "data information incident" involving "unauthorised entree to a constricted fig of institution emails".

"We person reported the incidental to the Information Commissioner's Office and person been actively moving with the applicable UK cyber authorities, including the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre, to enactment our probe and response," it said.

"We judge the scope of the incidental was constricted to email accounts only, however, arsenic a precautionary measure, we person contacted our cardinal stakeholders whose information whitethorn person been affected during the play of January to March 2024."