Garda (Irish Police) Data Breach (2014)

CONFIDENTIAL information on six "high-profile" personalities on the Garda Pulse computer system was accessed "inappropriately" by members of the force. The multiple access to their details was uncovered by auditors from the Data Protection Office. The findings, in a report published yesterday, were described by Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes and his team as "particularly disturbing" since none of the six had any known "major dealings" with gardai. Details on one person, who worked in the modelling industry, were accessed more than 80 times while another personality's data was accessed 50 times. The data protection team identified the inappropriate access, which they said was on a surprising scale, during an extensive sample review of logs on Pulse in relation to well-known public figures and celebrities.