Europol Accidentally Leaks Terrorism Investigations Online
Oops.
The European Police Office, or Europol, accidentally gave WikiLeaks a run for its money -- and now the agency has some explaining to do to lawmakers. On Wednesday, news broke that the European Union’s law enforcement organization inadvertently released online over 700 pages of potentially sensitive information spanning 54 terrorism investigations. Oops.
The European Police Office, or Europol, accidentally gave WikiLeaks a run for its money — and now the agency has some explaining to do to lawmakers. On Wednesday, news broke that the European Union’s law enforcement organization inadvertently released online over 700 pages of potentially sensitive information spanning 54 terrorism investigations. Oops.
The incident occurred months ago, when a former Europol employee took dossiers and files home. He then copied the information onto a hard drive connected to the internet with no password protection. That gave any interested parties potentially unfettered access if they were snooping around in the right places.
“This damages confidentiality and is the reason why we have immediately launched an investigation to find out how it happened,” Europol’s deputy director Wil van Gemert told Zembla, a Dutch publication that first broke the story, on Wednesday.
Van Gemert said there was no indication any party besides Zembla had accessed the information. Most of the data pertained to investigations from 2006 to 2008. But it could have included information on active investigations. “The fact that they were ten years ago part of an investigation, can still mean that they are part of an investigation,” Van Gemert said.
Additionally, the leaks contained information on some high-profile terrorism cases, including the 2004 Madrid train bombing and the Dutch Hofstad terrorism group, per DutchNews.nl.
The police agency, which helps the EU’s 28 member states coordinate the fight against serious crime and terrorism, doesn’t suspect foul play. “Current information suggests that the security breach was not ill-intended,” Europol said.
Police officials apparently knew about the accidental breach before the news broke on Wednesday, but they didn’t bother to inform lawmakers. The news broke just days after the European Parliament held a lengthy session with Europol Director Rob Wainwright on new parliamentary oversight and scrutiny of his agency. He didn’t bother to bring the incident up while he was with the lawmakers.
European parliamentary members weren’t too pleased with Wainwright’s omission when the scandal came to light.
“This is extremely shocking. Europol was aware of this security incident since September,” said Sophie in ’t Veld, member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party. “This leak damages trust in Europol.”
Photo credit: REMKO DE WAAL/AFP/Getty Images
Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @RobbieGramer
More from Foreign Policy
Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.
Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.
It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.
Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
