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Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott and United States' President Barack Obama meet Jimbelung the koala ahead of the G20 summit last year. G20 Australia via Flickr

Immigration officer accidentally leaked world leaders' passport numbers

An email with the details was inadvertently sent to the wrong person by an Australian immigration department worker.

THE AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION department accidentally disclosed personal details of 31 world leaders at the last G20 summit, it has emerged.

According to an email obtained by The Guardian, an employee inadvertently sent passport numbers, visa details and other identifiers of leaders like Barack Obama, Vladamir Putin, Angela Merkel, David Cameron and Chinese president Xi Jinping, to organisers of the Asian Cup football tournament.

The email was from the director of Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection to the privacy commissioner, informing the office of the breach.

The employee had failed to check that the autofill function in Microsoft Outlook had entered the correct person’s details into the ‘To’ field. The person who received the email deleted it and the director of the visa services in the immigration bureau said it was “unlikely that the information is in the public domain.

Interestingly, the immigration officer recommended that the world leaders not be made aware of the breach but it is not clear whether they were subsequently notified.

Read: Alan Shatter loses appeal against Mick Wallace data breach decision>

Read: There were 24 data breaches in Joan Burton’s department this year>

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9 Comments
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    Mute Annette
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    Jun 27th 2019, 10:03 PM

    Scary stuff to think we’re in 2019 and this stuff is probably rife!! Good job Italian Police

    423
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    Mute Will Thompson
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    Jun 27th 2019, 11:27 PM

    @Annette: Yeah had to stop reading, some sick ppl ou there!!!!

    90
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    Mute FrustratedASDMum
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    Jun 27th 2019, 10:40 PM

    What did I just read?? What kind of person does something like that? Sometimes I really lose hope in humanity. The pain and anguish those children and parents must have suffered is unthinkable.

    324
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    Mute Marianne
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    Jun 27th 2019, 11:49 PM

    Jesus. Just when I thought it could not get worse..those poor children and god love their parents..well done to the ITALIAN POLICE..I wish the family’s well

    123
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    Mute Pascal Coleman
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    Jun 27th 2019, 10:10 PM

    Evil bustards. Hope all found guilty hey the severe punishment they deserve for running so many lives.

    195
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    Mute Devilsavocado
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    Jun 27th 2019, 10:34 PM

    I read that in total disbelief, how the hell do these sick ba$tard$ sleep at night, they couldn’t have a shred of moral decency in their entire body’s, another case of just lock them up and throw away the key.

    204
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    Mute Anna Kavanagh
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    Jun 27th 2019, 11:42 PM

    It’s happening in Ireland too but it is being brushed under the carpet

    60
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    Mute Bee Johnson
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    Jun 28th 2019, 12:18 AM

    @Anna Kavanagh: source for that claim please

    79
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    Mute Chin Feeyin
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    Jun 28th 2019, 3:49 AM

    @Anna Kavanagh: without evidence, your claim has no credence.

    36
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    Mute Anne Crowe Fortune
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    Jun 28th 2019, 9:20 AM

    @Anna Kavanagh: OMG. Then will someone who knows PLEASE PLEASE don’t be afraid to come forward.

    7
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    Mute Anne Crowe Fortune
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    Jun 28th 2019, 9:20 AM

    @Anna Kavanagh: OMG. Then will someone who knows PLEASE don’t be afraid to come forward.

    1
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    Mute Joe Burns
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    Jun 28th 2019, 9:38 AM

    @Bee Johnson: if @Anna gave you the source she would be jailed under the In Camera Rule.

    Did you know that in Ireland that if you report the rape of a child to Gardai you could be jailed?

    9
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    Mute K
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    Jun 28th 2019, 1:35 PM

    @Joe Burns: wha?

    3
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    Mute Bee Johnson
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    Jun 29th 2019, 4:44 PM

    @Joe Burns: That’s utter nonsense, the in camera rule protects the identity of the child. It does not prevent anybody from reporting a crime. Social Workers have endless files of children that have been abused and raped and work closely with the Gardai to interview these children it a protected environment and I can assure you part of that process is not to arrest the person who reported the crime.

    1
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    Mute Ger
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    Jun 27th 2019, 11:48 PM

    Jesus Christ! Thats like an episode of Law And Order SVU. You wouldnt think that something like that could be happening in a western country in 2019. If found guilty I hope they never see the outside of a cell again.

    60
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    Mute Cathy Carroll
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    Jun 27th 2019, 10:09 PM

    Disgusting

    116
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    Mute Cat K.
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    Jun 28th 2019, 1:27 AM

    @Cathy Carroll: well one of yas did it

    9
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    Mute @at
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    Jun 28th 2019, 12:16 AM

    That is horrific. It is so sad the depths of depravity some people will stoop too for money

    41
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    Mute Seán Dillon
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    Jun 27th 2019, 10:59 PM

    This world is over run with degenerate lowlifes, the future is bleak.

    68
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    Mute Brian Flavin
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    Jun 28th 2019, 12:00 AM

    Sicko & poor child and well Done To Italian Police

    30
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    Mute Shane Dignam
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    Jun 28th 2019, 12:31 AM

    Just the beginning by all accounts.

    17
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    Mute Stephen Coveney
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    Jun 28th 2019, 1:25 AM

    @Shane Dignam: yes, fake accounts notably yours.

    4
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    Mute Cat K.
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    Jun 28th 2019, 1:29 AM

    No punishment would be great enough for these ‘people’.

    18
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    Mute Kevin McCarthy
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    Jun 27th 2019, 11:20 PM

    Sick and evil people.

    44
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    Mute Bee Johnson
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    Jun 28th 2019, 12:21 AM

    That is seriously messed up but I’m confused to the lengths they went to. surely there are plenty of children already in the care system that they could of “sold” if money was their primary goal?

    12
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    Mute ÓDuibhír Abú
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    Jun 28th 2019, 7:28 AM

    @Bee Johnson: Our ‘Religious ‘ people done it.!! Sold our children to the highest bidder,.

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    Mute Bee Johnson
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    Jun 28th 2019, 9:19 AM

    @ÓDuibhír Abú: oh I get that but assuming they were doing this to sell off “healthy” children, but now they are selling damaged children anyway so what was the point. We pay foster families here and we still can’t find enough families

    2
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    Mute Brendan Boyle
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    Jun 28th 2019, 9:22 AM

    I can’t believe we’re seeing this kind of abuse from actual officials in any European country.
    I know we were worse at one stage but that was when the church ran the show. This is Bananas

    9
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    Mute Mark Lamb
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    Jun 28th 2019, 1:38 PM

    Tusla Social Workers are Coaching Children Telling them the have being Abused Tusla also are Inflating Falsifying Tusla Files of Abuse to take Children into Care …. Maurice McCabe is the Tip of the Ice Berg…..What Happened in Italy is also happening in Corrupt Ireland …..

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    Mute Mark Lamb
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    Jun 28th 2019, 1:39 PM

    @Mark Lamb:

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    Mute Artugal
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    Jun 28th 2019, 11:07 AM

    Nothing new sadly, human trafficking the only true remnants of the Roman Empire. Really hope these guys, and their customers, see nothing but cells for the rest of their days. Well done Italian police/whistleblowers!

    5
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