Data protection website not hacked, says chief

DATA Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes was left red-faced yesterday after a blogger “hacked” into his office’s website and managed to access his office’s annual report prior to its official publication.

The incident occurred just after Mr Hawkes voiced concern in recent weeks about several incidents where there have been potential breaches of legislation governing data protection.

They included the discovery of personal medical records at a former dump in Cork, the theft of laptops from Bank of Ireland staff containing personal account details and the disclosure of property sales figures by estate agents.