Legal action has been commenced against the Department of Education over a data breach.
On Friday, Education Minister Paul Givan issued an apology to all those affected after the details of more than 400 people were shared.
The department said a spreadsheet containing the names, email addresses and titles of 407 individuals who had expressed an interest in attending the End-to End Review of SEN events across Northern Ireland was sent in error.
The spreadsheet also included comments made by a number of individuals.
The department said the 174 individuals who received the personal data have been asked to delete the information and confirm they have done so.
Mr Givan said he has instructed his permanent secretary to launch a “full and thorough investigation into the data breach”, adding the department will be “working to put in place measures to help make sure this does not happen again”.
The Information Commissioner was also notified.
On Monday, solicitor Owen Beattie said his office has been instructed by some of those impacted by the breach and that legal action has been commenced against the Department of Education.
The claim is for breach of privacy, misuse of private information, breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and also for personal injury due to the distress caused to its clients.
“We can confirm that legal action has been launched against the Department of Education for the data breach that occurred on 1 August 2024,” Owen Beattie and Co Solicitors said in a statement.
“Our clients are rightly concerned, angry and distraught by this grievous breach of privacy.
“The apology from the Minister is welcomed, but there is still much uncertainty around the extent and scale of this breach.
This litigation should bring a spotlight to expose how this data breach occurred in the first place, and to also secure accountability for those affected.”
