Huge data breach at Tameside Council

Details of more than 6,000 staff members at Tameside Council, including addresses and National Insurance numbers, have been leaked.

Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in December, it was found that the 6,345 staff members who had their personal information shared or publicised in error were not made aware of this.

The breach disclosed grievance information, reasons for absences and medical information as well as names, addresses, monthly pay, NI numbers, details of disciplinary hearings and probation extension request information.

The FOI response said that 13 incidents have occurred since 2018 to date.

An anonymous source told the Tameside Reporter: "Inner sources are trying to take this FOI down from their public forum.

"Good sources inside say it was a spreadsheet published on the council's website and they didn't inform the ICO about the breach which was accessed by a member of the public."

The Reporter approached Tameside Council and asked if they could tell us why or how this happened and what measures have been put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again.

A Tameside Council spokesperson replied: "We take any incidents involving data breaches extremely seriously and ensure that they are reported to the ICO where required. We always put into practice any learning required.”