Angus Council has today Friday 16 August launched an internal investigation and reported itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office due to a serious data protection breach.
Personal data from an Angus Council online test system has been released into the public domain via posts to two closed Homes for Ukraine themed Facebook groups. The council moved swiftly to disable the link once it had been made aware of the breach.
It is as yet unclear how this happened and is currently part of the council’s investigation, which, if appropriate, will be reported to Police Scotland.
While the full details are still under investigation, it is understood that the data released contained personal details of prospective Ukrainian guests and their Angus-based hosts. All were part of the Homes for Ukraine Resettlement programme.
The data was contained within a system, not a file, so was not available to be digitally exported, although it could potentially have been copied.
Angus Council will be contacting those affected directly where possible to advise them of the data breach, apologise and offer support.
If any members of the public thinks that they may have been affected, please contact the council by emailing to resettlement@angus.gov.uk.