A contractor linked to the UK Ministry of Defence has suffered a cyber-attack, exposing personal data of up to 3,700 individuals, including Afghans in the resettlement scheme. The breach at Inflite The Jet Centre Ltd, which provides ground services for flights linked to the MoD and Cabinet Office, affected those who flew into London Stansted Airport between January and March 2024.
The leaked data may also include information on civil servants, soldiers on routine exercises, and journalists. Inflite confirmed the breach involved 'access to a limited number of company emails' and has reported the incident to the Information Commissioner's Office, working with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre on the investigation.
A government spokesperson stated they were notified of the incident, which involved unauthorised access to a small number of emails containing basic personal information. They emphasised that the incident posed no threat to individuals' safety and did not compromise government systems. The data is not believed to have been leaked to the dark web or made public.
This breach follows a separate incident in February 2022, where a defence official disclosed personal data of 18,714 Afghans who worked with British forces. The government later issued a superinjunction to suppress information related to that breach, for which Defence Secretary John Healey apologised.
