Northern Ireland's Department of Justice has been handed a fine of more than $240,000 by the Information Commissioner for a data breach that involved the personal information of terrorist attack victims.
A locked cabinet that stored the information was auctioned off by the Compensation Agency in 2012, according to a report by BBC News.
After the buyer opened the cabinet, they found the sensitive documents which included details on families and injuries suffered, as well as other private legal details. The buyer returned the cabinet and the sensitive data to the Department of Justice, whom then alerted the Information Commissioner of the incident, who is in charge of data protection issues in the country.
According to Justice Minister David Ford, none of the information was compromised.
