Greek police data leak puts new crime unit in spotlight

In Athens Greece‚ a newly-formed elite crime-fighting unit called DAOE (Directorate for Combating Organised Crime) has found itself in an unexpected situation. The agency which was set up just yesterday to deal with serious offenses like contract killings fuel smuggling and money laundering‚ is now dealing with a significant data breach

The leak exposed names and personal information of more than 500 DAOE members. This sensitive data came from an internal document about staff transfers and department reorganization. A news website focusing on police and public safety matters published the information earlier this week‚ and it quickly spread through private chat groups

The Association of Police Officers in Athens is not happy about this incident. They sent a complaint to parliament today‚ expressing their deep concern. The association stated‚ “We dont care if this was a mistake or someone thought it was ʼexclusive informationʼ Our only worry is the outcome: Detailed personal data of officers in a new service is now available to everyone“

Greeceʼs main opposition party forwarded the complaint to lawmakers. They criticized the conservative government‚ saying it showed “complete indifference and incompetence“ about protecting data

DAOE is meant to be the star department in a big police reorganization. Its supposed to work on fighting serious and organized crime – including crimes against life and property human trafficking and financial wrongdoing. The agency is also expected to team up with other Greek law enforcement groups and international organizations like Europol and Interpol

This leak has put DAOE in an uncomfortable spotlight right at the start of its operations. It raises questions about data security within Greek law enforcement and might affect the new agencyʼs ability to carry out its important work