The UK defense ministry was fined for an Afghan data breach during the Taliban takeover. A series of email data breaches that disclosed the personal information of over 265 Afghans who were seeking relocation to Britain after the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan resulted in the British privacy regulator issuing a fine to the defense ministry on Wednesday. The breach occurred after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it had levied a punishment of 350,000 pounds on the Ministry of Defense (MoD). The ICO stated that the MoD had no operating procedures to guarantee that group emails were delivered securely to Afghan nationals who had worked for or with the British government.
“This deeply regrettable data breach let down those to whom our country owes so much,” Information Commissioner John Edwards said in a statement at the time of the hack.
“Even though the situation on the ground in the summer of 2021 was complicated and decisions were being taken at a rapid speed, this is not a justification for failing to secure the information of individuals who were susceptible to retaliation and faced the possibility of suffering significant injury.
Ben Wallace, who was serving as the minister of defense at the time, had previously apologized in front of the British parliament and initiated an investigation into the security breach.
In addition to reiterating its apologies, the Ministry of Defense stated that it acknowledged the gravity of the situation and promised to provide more information about its actions to address the concerns raised by the Information Commissioner in due course.
On September 20, 2021, the department sent an email to a distribution list of Afghan nationals qualified for evacuation. The email included a copy for each application, which resulted in the personal information of 245 individuals being revealed without their knowledge, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Ministry of Defense’s investigation discovered two similar breaches during the same month. They compromised a total of 265 email addresses. The ICO also stated that if the Taliban had obtained the leaked material, it might have posed a threat to human life.
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