(Source: Wikimedia Commons)The Head of the PSNI has conceded that it may be impossible to recover and track data from police officers being shared on social media.
It comes after his force accidentally leaked data including surnames, ranks and base locations of serving officers.
A file containing some of the data was left outside of one of Sinn Féin's offices in Belfast.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne says dissident republicans more than likely have the data:
"I think it's a reasonable assumption that dissident republicans have it. We know the internet is vast and we're obviously investigating where we think this leak went but we've said from last week that there was an assumption this would get into the wrong hands and we're now just confirming that."
"So it's an early planning assumption that we put in place and we'll continue to adapt our posture and our tactics as the information changes."
