Scottish charity inadvertently leaks sensitive data of rape victims, volunteers and more online

A Scottish charity reportedly inadvertently leaked sensitive information of scores of people online. The Scottish Appropriate Adult Network's (SAAN) website leaked names, phone numbers and IP addresses of around 50 people. Among those affected by the breach include rape victims, mentally-challenged individuals, volunteers and more.

SAAN works with some of the most vulnerable people in local communities, providing support, including helping people with the process of dealing with the justice system. However, the site leaked the information of former police officers, volunteers, social workers and lawyers. The site also exposed information about mentally-challenged people and victims of domestic abuse and rape, the Sunday Post reported.

The charity was reportedly contacted about the breach last year but failed to take action because previous messages were not delivered to the organisation. This indicates that the site may have been leaking data for at least a year, if not more. However, SAAN shut down its site after it was alerted about the leak by the Scottish newspaper. At the time of writing, the SAAN website remained inaccessible.

It is still unclear as to what caused the leak and how long the site was leaking information. It is also uncertain as to whether more people were affected by the breach than recently reported.

"As soon as we were notified of the difficulties, we took immediate action and the website is unavailable until the issue has been resolved," SAAN's interim chairwoman Karen Donoghue said, according to the Sunday Post. Donoghue also added that SAAN did not receive previous messages due to an "error with the site".

The Information Commissioner's Office is now reportedly investigating the breach.