UK Ministry of Defence security incident history
Hacking, data breaches and other security incidents involving UK Ministry of Defence, with related coverage.
Classified information leaked from laptop left open by UK Ministry of Defence official
Impact: Classified information
Classified information was leaked after a UK Ministry of Defence employee left a laptop open on a train. The specific scale of the leak, the date of the incident and the response have not been confirmed.
Related reports: 2 · last report →Further MoD data breach affects thousands of Afghans
Impact: Thousands more Afghans affected
A further data breach at the Ministry of Defence affected Afghans resettled in the UK. Ministers said thousands more people were affected by the second breach.
Related reports: 3 · last report →Ministry of Defence leaks data on thousands of Afghans
Impact: Leak of data on thousands of Afghans
The Ministry of Defence leaked the data of thousands of at-risk Afghans. Following the leak, more than 7,300 people became eligible for resettlement in the UK, and it was suggested that the leak may be linked to at least 49 deaths. Victims pursued legal action, and Parliament criticised the measures to prevent a recurrence as insufficient.
Related reports: 15 · last report →UK Ministry of Defence payroll system breach exposes armed forces' bank details
272kImpact: Personal data including bank details of up to 272,000 serving personnel and recent veterans
An external payroll system used by the UK Ministry of Defence was hacked, exposing personal data including bank details of up to 272,000 serving personnel and recent veterans. The UK government attributed it to an attack by a malicious actor and did not rule out state involvement. It later emerged that the company operating the system had not reported the breach for months.
Related reports: 20 · last report →