MoD staff warned not to share hidden data before Afghan leak

ICO documents show MoD staff were warned before the 2022 data leak not to share information containing hidden spreadsheet tabs. Almost 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK had their details exposed when an official emailed a spreadsheet with a hidden tab. ICO staff raised concerns about the regulator's decision not to fine or independently investigate the MoD. The government estimates the leak will cost about £850m and led to an emergency resettlement scheme for people at risk from the Taliban. A High Court super-injunction prevented reporting for almost two years. The MoD says it has worked to improve data security, but the ICO says lessons remain unlearned.

Last month it emerged that the details of almost 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK were leaked when an official emailed a spreadsheet that contained a hidden tab with the information. Documents released by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) also show that staff there raised concerns about why the body had not issued a fine to the MoD. The MoD said they had worked to improve data security,

According to an ICO memo, guidance in place at the time of the leak showed that the "MoD was aware of the risks of sharing data and explicitly referenced the need to remove hidden data from datasets". Hidden tabs are a common feature in spreadsheet software and make information invisible to the user, but still easily accessible if the settings on a document are changed.

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