Policing Authority ask Gardaí to estimate scale of Gmail usage
Authority chairwoman Josephine Feehily said the body’s “biggest concerns” was the scale of use of Gmail and the risks involved in the content of those emails.
The chairwoman also had a swipe at Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan in relation to the slow pace in identifying garda positions that could be civilianised.
She told Ms O’Sullivan that they had the input of the Garda Inspectorate in relation to their December 2015 estimate that 1,500 positions could be civilianised and told the commissioner: “Your input is missing.”
The developments came at the end of a two-hour public meeting between the Policing Authority and the Garda top brass, led by Ms O’Sullivan.
Much of the session was taken up with revelations in last week’s Sunday Times that, separate to her secure garda email, the commissioner used a private Gmail account, contrary to regulations. The newspaper alleged that a Dropbox account attached to the email had been hacked and compromised. This sparked allegations and concerns that potentially sensitive information, including in relation to policing and national security, could have been compromised. The claims were rejected by the Garda Síochána.
Ms O’Sullivan touched on these issues at the start of her address.
“I am very conscious of my obligations to protect national security and policing operations and would under no circumstances use any system which would allow them be compromised,” she said.
She added the Garda Síochána had strong security controls on use and access to Garda IT systems and that there was “no evidence” suggesting they had been compromised.
The Garda chief accounting officer, Joseph Nugent, said it was not possible to access certain files types and sizes on the garda email system, because of security measures.
He said that, “on occasion”, Gmail was used to access certain material, such as “speeches, presentations, and research articles”.
He said Garda IT put Gmail on mobile devices supplied by the organisation and protected by it.
He said that, last August, after a threat to the garda system, they brought in a system that prevented dual access to the garda IT system and Gmail, to prevent any material being copied and pasted. He said they also reminded members of what they “could and couldn’t do” on their personal account.
Asked by authority member Vicky Conway did he have a system to assess the scale of usage of Gmail, he said he had examined the commissioner’s account. He said he examined “hundreds of emails” and found “no evidence” of anything sensitive.
Ms Conway asked how the organisation, from a risk perspective, ensured this was the case, generally. He referred to the reminder they gave in August.
She said it would be encouraging to see “something more proactive”. He said this might come out of a review of policy, due soon.
Authority member Maureen Lynott asked was there a software system to monitor Gmail usage. Mr Nugent said there was not, but it was being examined.
Ms Feehily later called on Mr Nugent to provide, at their next meeting in December, “some sense of scale” of usage of Gmail, as well as the “content risks and if they were mitigated”, saying these were their “biggest concerns”.
Ms Feehily also criticised Garda bosses, including the commissioner, for the slow pace of civilianisation. She said the estimate by the Garda Inspectorate was around a “long time”.
Ms O’Sullivan shared concerns regarding pace, saying they had engaged with the Inspectorate to identify these 1,500 positions.
Ms Feehily interrupted and said: “We have engaged with the Garda Inspectorate. We have their input. Your input is missing.”
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