DIGEST: Newcastle Upon Tyne City Council has revealed a data breach which has seen the names and addresses of adopted children being accidentally sent out in an email.
Personal details relating to 2,743 individuals, including current and former adoptees, parents and social workers, were included on spreadsheet sent out to people invited to the council’s annual adoption summer party.
In a statement, the council said the spreadsheet, which included personal information such as names, addresses and the birthdates of the adopted children, were sent to 77 people two days ago.
Newcastle said an investigation has been undertaken and recipients had been asked to delete the email.
Director of people Ewen Weir said: “I am truly sorry for the distress caused to all those affected. We will work closely with the affected families and individuals to support them at this trying time.
“The council takes data protection and confidentiality very seriously and has acted swiftly to understand what happened and who has been affected. This breach appears to have been caused by human error and a failure to follow established procedures.”
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