Watchdog to probe INM data

It’s alleged that journalists and ex-directors were targeted

THE Data Protection Commissioner is to launch an inquiry into an alleged data breach at the publisher of the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent newspapers.

It follows concerns raised by the Director of Corporate Enforcement that data relating to 19 past and present Independent News and Media staff may have been removed from the firm’s offices in 2014.

The data watchdog is looking at whether any accessed information was ‘processed lawfully and fairly’.

THE State’s Data Protection Commissioner is to launch an investigation into an alleged data breach at the publisher of the Irish Independent newspaper.

The move follows concerns raised by the Director of Corporate Enforcement that data relating to past and present Independent News and Media staff, including journalists and ex-directors, may have been removed from the firm’s premises in October 2014.

The information was allegedly taken out of the jurisdiction and ‘interrogated’ by at least six companies. The ODCE, which is seeking the appointment of inspectors to investigate a range of corporate governance issues at INM, made the claims in an affidavit filed with the High Court. The case is due to be heard on April 16.

The Data Protection Commissioner is to launch an inquiry into the alleged breach of data of 19 people connected to INM, including two senior barristers who represented the Moriarty Tribunal, and high-profile names such as TV presenter Brendan O’Connor and reporter Maeve Sheehan.

A spokesman for the Data Protection Commissioner said: ‘The DPC intends to undertake an investigation into whether personal data was accessed and, if so, whether it was processed lawfully and fairly in accordance with data protection legislation.

‘We are currently scoping the parameters of that investigation, including seeking additional information from INM this afternoon on foot of the breach notification it filed with the office last week.’

It is understood the DPC received a data breach notification from INM last week.

ODCE director Ian Drennan claimed: ‘During the course of the data interrogation, INM’s data appears to have been interrogated and searched against the names of various individuals, including, among others, a number of INM journalists and two senior counsel.’

In the affidavit, Mr Drennan said that in October 2014, there was a removal of the INM IT system’s back-up tapes from the firm’s premises to the offices of a firm outside the jurisdiction, the Sunday Independent reported.

This resulted in INM data being interrogated over what appears to have been the course of a number of months, according to the ODCE director. It is alleged the data was accessed by at least six companies outside the media group.

The ODCE director claims the data interrogation was directed by the former INM chairman Leslie Buckley – who stepped down last month – and that two invoices associated with it were paid by Blaydon Ltd, an Isle of Man firm beneficially owned by businessman Denis O’Brien, who is the largest shareholder in INM.

Mr Buckley told the ODCE he gave access to the data to a firm in Wales, Trusted Data Solutions, as part of a cost-cutting exercise, it was reported.

The Irish Daily Mail asked Mr Buckley yesterday if he had granted access to the data to TDS without the board’s notice. His spokesman replied: ‘It is not appropriate to comment as a review process is under way.’

There were 19 names identified as ‘persons of interest’ discovered by the ODCE in its year-long investigation into the conduct of INM’s board following a protected disclosure by former chief executive Robert Pitt in 2016.

The names include two senior counsel, Jacqueline O’Brien and Jerry Healy, who were both engaged by the Moriarty Tribunal, which investigated matters such as the awarding of the State’s second mobile phone licence in 1995 to Mr O’Brien.

Also among those on the list in Mr Drennan’s affidavit was Brendan O’Connor, who works at the Sunday Independent.

Sam Smyth, who previously worked with the Irish Independent, was on the list of people who allegedly had their data breached.

Also named by the Irish Independent yesterday were Joe Webb, the former chief executive of the group’s Irish division; former chief executive Vincent Crowley; former director and chief financial officer Donal Buggy; and the late former chairman James Osborne.

National Union of Journalists secretary Séamus Dooley, speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, said: ‘This stinks to high heavens.’

A spokesman for INM said they would not be making a comment. A spokesman for Mr O’Brien was not contactable yesterday.

‘Seeking additional information’ ‘This stinks to high heavens’