by Tala Mbakwe, Premier
A law firm has issued an apology after a data breach exposed the email addresses of 194 people linked to the Church of England’s redress scheme for survivors of Church-related abuse.
The breach, which the firm attributed to “human error,” occurred on Tuesday evening, when a message was sent displaying the email addresses of individuals and law firms that had signed up to receive updates about the scheme.
Kennedys Law LLP, which has been working with the Church of England since March as independent scheme administrator, has accepted full responsibility for the mistake. It has reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the Charity Commission. The firm has also launched an internal investigation to ensure such a breach does not happen again.