Garda Commissioner ‘occasionally’ used private Gmail for work

Garda HQ yesterday confirmed Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan “occasionally used” a private Gmail address for work but said there was “no evidence” that it was ever compromised.

In a statement, An Garda Síochána said the commissioner “would under no circumstances” compromise her obligations to protect national security and policing operations by sharing such information on Gmail.

The commissioner is sending a report to the Department of Justice and the Policing Authority.

The Policing Authority is having a scheduled public meeting with the commissioner this Thursday at which members are likely to question her about the issue.

The Garda statement followed a report in the Sunday Times that Ms O’Sullivan has been using a private email account to send and receive official correspondence.

It reported that a Dropbox account (a cloud-based service for accessing documentation and photographs) held by the commissioner had been compromised in a hacking of Dropbox in 2012.

The newspaper said the commissioner had been using the Gmail account for at least four years “even though she worked in sensitive positions”, including operations, intelligence, and counterterrorism.

RTÉ subsequently reported yesterday that a senior garda claimed he had communicated with the commissioner on official business through Gmail. He said that on at least one occasion he sent the commissioner an official report.

He further claimed that he received an email from the commissioner on a separate Garda matter.

Responding to the various reports, the Garda statement said: “Due to restrictions with the Garda email system such as email size and storage, the Commissioner occasionally used a Gmail address to ensure that Garda business has been discharged effectively.

“At all times, there has been due regard to the sensitivity of any information being transmitted in this way.”

The statement said issues with the Garda email were identified by a 2015 Garda Inspectorate report, Changing Policing in Ireland.

It said it was “standard procedure and an essential requirement” that all Garda staff with mobile devices had Gmail accounts installed on their devices by Garda ICT to ensure they were secured.

“The commissioner takes all recommended security measures when using Gmail such as regularly changing the password, using a mix of letters, numbers and symbols for the password and independent authentication.”

It added: “An Garda Síochána is satisfied that the commissioner’s systems are secure and there is no evidence they have ever been compromised. The commissioner is well aware of her obligations to protect national security and policing operations and would under no circumstances allow them to be compromised.”

It said the commissioner was preparing a report for the department and the Policing Authority.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: “The use of forms of communication in particular circumstances are operational matters based on an assessment of the circumstances involved and, accordingly, the department has nothing to add to any comment by An Garda Síochána.”

A spokesperson for the Policing Authority said: “We will follow this up with the Garda Síochána and brief ourselves during the course of the week.”

The Garda Ombudsman had no comment to make as to whether it would investigate the matter, but it is thought unlikely.

The Data Protection Commissioner had no comment to make.