SAS Secrets Leaked: Names Reportedly Available Online for Over a Decade

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) emphasized that the security of service members is critically important following reports that the personal information of current British special forces operatives had been available online for over ten years.

According to The Sunday Times, the security lapse resulted in the exposure of the identities along with their respective ranks for over 20 elite troops, which were detailed in papers accessible online to anyone.

All confidential personal data has been eliminated.

A representative from the Ministry of Defence stated, "Ensuring the wellbeing of our staff is top priority for us, and we handle information security with utmost seriousness. Whenever we identify any possible threat, we promptly respond."

It has been reported that the very few individuals involved have been properly informed and safeguarded.

The data breach was initially disclosed by the Sunday Times , where two documents related to the British Army were accidentally released and remained accessible for over ten years.

The papers — meant exclusively for personnel in the military — were released on the internet unprotected by passwords. These files included sensitive information like aliases and code names associated with special force units and their missions, according to reports.

Although the paper said the documents did not explicitly reveal which units these soldiers belonged to, explanations of the codenames used are available online and known within military circles, meaning anyone could work out whether the named soldiers were either serving in or affiliated with an elite unit.

The report from the newspaper indicated that these updates took place just a few months prior, which implies that several of the mentioned soldiers might have been involved in active missions when the changes occurred.

The long-standing policy of various administrations has been to refrain from commenting on the operations of the Special Forces.

Special forces units are frequently sent into the most hazardous combat zones, with examples being the Special Air Service (SAS) and the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service (SBS).

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