Guilty plea in British National Party data leak

The BNP suffered an embarrassing leak in November 2008

A former high-ranking member of the British National Party (BNP) has been fined for posting a list of party members online.

A UK court fined Matthew Single £200 for leaking a list of members and contact information. According to media reports, Single was a former security chief in the party and had twice run for local office.

Single is said to have posted the information after having fallen out with the BNP. In an act of revenge he posted the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of some 12,000 party members.

He was charged with violating the UK Data Protection Act, a 1998 law dealing with the online disclosure of personal information.

The leak enraged many within the BNP and raised fears that those on the membership sheet could lose their jobs and be subject to revenge attacks for their involvement with the far right group, which allows only white members. Some members even called for the resignation of party leader Nick Griffin.

In addition to sparking debate on political and social freedoms, the incident raised eyebrows within the enterprise, where protecting corporate and customer data has become a top security priority in the aftermath of high profile thefts such as the TJX incident.