Two massive data breaches – what is going on?  

Welcome to Wednesday’s Early Edition from i.

“Monumental” and “nearly unheard of”. That’s how two very different security breaches, revealed yesterday, have been described. The first was the revelation that the Electoral Commission had been hit by a cyber attack that went undetected for more than a year, which could potentially affect tens of millions of voters’ who may have had their details accessed. The second the accidental leaking of details of officers working for Northern Ireland’s police service. While that one appears more innocent – currently being put down to “simple human error” – the nature of it “could do incalculable damage” if the information was put into the wrong hands. We’ll take a look at what we know on both breaches and how serious they are, after the headlines.

Today’s news, and why it matters

The UK should seek membership of any new EU scheme to share the burden of asylum seekers as part of a “comprehensive” plan to end the Channel crisis rather than indulging in “rhetoric” to “distract attention”, a Conservative ex-immigration minister has said. Lord Kirkhope told i that Suella Braverman’s current plans to “stop the boats” were not “sane”, “sensible” or “responsible” and that the issue would not help the party’s election prospects.

Six English water companies could be forced to pay up to £800m in compensation to more than 20 million customers as they face legal action over allegations of underreporting pollution incidents and overcharging customers. A consultant represented by Leigh Day Solicitors is bringing what the law firm describes as the first environmental collective action case of its kind.

The UK is set for five years of lost growth, dogged by growing unemployment, sticky inflation and high interest rates, according to a leading economic think tank. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research warned the country will likely miss a recession but said the outlook remains ‘highly uncertain’ with a risk of one occurring towards the end of next year at 60 per cent.

A weight-loss jab can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 20 per cent, according to “exciting” trial results. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk conducted a five-year study of semaglutide, sold under the brand name Wegovy, which showed even more benefits than already known.

More than seven million UK employees report facing discrimination in the workplace, according to a major international survey. A total of 22 per cent of UK workers reported facing discrimination at work because of their identity. This more than doubled to 45 per cent of people from a black background, 41 per cent from an Asian background, and 33 per cent from the LGBTQ+ community.

A retired British couple living in France say that rule changes after Brexit have made travel a “hassle” and led to them seeing their children and grandchildren less. Owen and Beverly Leeds, both 66, told i that getting their favourite British foods such as bacon and cheddar cheese has also become an expensive quest as meat and dairy products cannot be brought into the EU from a non-EU country.

Covid is on the march again, fuelled by a new variant sweeping the UK, figures show. Scientists are confident that cases – and serious cases in particular – won’t reach anything like previous peaks. But September will prove to be crunch time. i asked leading scientists how worried they are about the new Eris variant, as experts predict it will become the UK’s dominant strain.

Five questions on the NI and electoral roll data breaches:

What happened in Northern Ireland? The PSNI was responding to a Freedom of Information request for the number of officers and staff at all ranks and grades. But in doing so, they mistakenly included a table that held details of 10,000 officers, including their service number, last name and initials, status, rank, gender, contract type, and hours of work each week. The data was potentially viewable by the public for up to three hours. The incident was first reported by the Belfast Telegraph, after it was contacted by a relative of a serving officer. Read the full story here.

How serious is it? Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd sought to assure those affected, saying the information was taken down quickly, there were no immediate security concerns and that early indications suggested it was down to “simple human error”. However he added the terrorist threat facing officers has made it the “last thing that anybody in the organisation wants to be hearing”. “We operate in an environment at the moment where there’s a severe threat to our colleagues from Northern Ireland-related terrorism and this is the last thing that anybody in the organisation wants to be hearing this evening,” he said. Liam Kelly, the chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, has called for an urgent inquiry over “a breach of monumental proportions”. “Even if it was done accidentally, it still represents a data and security breach that should never have happened. Rigorous safeguards ought to have been in place to protect this valuable information which, if in the wrong hands, could do incalculable damage,” he said. “The men and women I represent are appalled by this breach. They are shocked, dismayed and justifiably angry. Like me, they are demanding action to address this unprecedented disclosure of sensitive information.”

What happened at the Electoral Commission? In August 2021, hostile actors accessed the systems of the Electoral Commission. Concerningly, the cyber attack wasn’t picked up until October the following year. The hackers were able to access reference copies of the electoral registers, which included the name and address of anyone in the UK who was registered to vote between 2014 and 2022, as well as the names of those registered as overseas voters. The elections watchdog has not been able to determine conclusively what files may or may not have been accessed, but details of those registered anonymously were not included in registers. People concerned about it have been told to get in touch with the ICO or check the website for advice and support.
Read more here.

How serious is it? The Electoral Commission said the personal data accessed by hackers was “unlikely to present a high risk to individuals”. But experts say the bigger issue is that whoever was behind the attack could access and monitor the system for a long time. Jake Moore, a global cybersecurity advisor for ESET, told i: “I don’t think the hackers would have imagined they would have been undetected for so long. Over a year is nearly unheard of. It was effectively a recce, a stakeout on a network from within to see exactly how it operates. The internet security software should have found it out much earlier – that’s where the embarrassment lies.” But, worryingly, he added: “It gives inside information to hackers, who are able to create malware knowing exactly what operating system they are up against. It gives a huge advantage for a bigger attack.” Read the full story here.

Who is behind it? The commission has not given any detail on the identity or motives of those behind it. The Times reports that investigations into the attack has picked up evidence of Russian activity, but it adds there are currently no signs of links to the Kremlin. Sir David Omand, a former director of GCHQ, told BBC Radio 4’s PM that Russia would be “first on my list of suspects”. He said: “Russians — and I point to them in particular — have been interfering with democratic elections for some years now — think of the 2016 US election, and then the French election, and then the German election, even our own 2019 election.”

 Around the world

 The eight countries that share the Amazon basin have fallen short of their goal to end deforestation. A joint statement named the Belém declaration, said the new alliance would aim to “prevent the Amazon from reaching a point of no return,” but left each country to pursue its own conservation goals.

A new history textbook is being rolled out for Moscow schoolchildren, which includes a section on Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine at what is described as a “unique time” for the country. The latest version of the textbook for secondary school students in 10th and 11th grade urges young readers to seize the “opportunities” created by the war in Ukraine.

Researchers studying grey and harbour seals in the North Sea have found that the marine mammals practice social distancing. A paper published by the Royal Society says the two species not only maintain distances between their own kind but also that this behaviour may “reflect an evolutionary response to viral susceptibility”.

An Italian café has prompted outcry after charging €2 to cut a customer’s sandwich in half. The owner of Bar Pace on Lake Como said “to cut it in half took time and work must be paid for” after a customer asked for a toastie to be chopped so he could share it with his girlfriend.

A Bronze Age arrowhead found near Lake Biel in Switzerland was likely made of iron that originated from a meteorite, researchers have said. The site of the discovery lies near the scattering field of the Twannberg meteorite, the largest one found known to have reached Switzerland.

Watch out for…

 Oxford St, where a heightened police presence is expected following speculation about an event being spread on social media. Sadiq Khan has urged people to stay away and not take part. 

Thoughts for the day

 Bogeyman or straight-talker? Lee Anderson is happy to be both. Anderson, and those he represents, are here to stay, writes Jordan Tyldesley.

I always assumed I’d have a family, but at 41, I’m grieving the children I didn’t have. Did I really get to my forties and just forget to have children? Are there others out there like me, asks Kate Lister.

Forget banning children from pubs, it’s dogs we need to bar from our boozers. Not all of us want someone’s pup having a cheeky sniff at our groin when we’re just trying to get a round in, says Colin Drury.

 Culture Break

Paris Fury: ‘Tyson’s retirement was the worst few years of our lives’. As the boxer and his wife open their doors to Netflix, the couple talk about their ‘chaotic’ home, how a bipolar diagnosis helped their marriage and why the ‘Gyspy King’ isn’t a spokesperson for the Traveller community.

 The Big Read

 ‘The Taliban threatened to shoot my daughter for selling pens’: Life in Afghanistan two years on. “I witnessed a neighbour begging a charity agent to enroll him in an aid programme. The same man previously used to buy us flour,” one man tells i.

 Sport

 How England could line up without Lauren James for their World Cup quarter-final against Colombia. James is suspended for the quarter-final against Colombia and could yet miss the rest of the tournament, writes Katherine Lucas.

Something to brighten your day

 As anyone with a fitness tracker will know, 10,000 is the magical number of steps one must walk each day in order to stay on top of their fitness. But now a study – the largest of its kind – suggests that might be wrong. Just taking 4,000 steps a day can lower your risk of death, it says. Researchers found that walking at least 3,967 steps a day started to reduce the risk of dying from any cause, and 2,337 steps a day reduced the risk of dying from diseases of the heart and blood vessels.