Just Park: Belfast company flags data breach hitting thousands

The details of more than 4,500 customers stored by JustPark were available to be viewed

The details of more than 4,500 people were published on the website of a new parking app.

The discovery on the corporate section of the JustPark system was made by a Belfast business owner.

Names, email addresses, mobile numbers, car makes and registrations from across the UK were all made available.

JustPark, which took over the running of the Department for Infrastructure's parking app last month, has since amended the glitch.

The information was on the section of the website where the business which made the discovery registered and paid for parking.

The amount businesses were paying and their parking history was also available to see.

In a statement, JustPark's founder and chief executive Anthony Eskinazi admitted that there was "an isolated incident which shouldn't have happened".

Mr Eskinazi said that he unreservedly apologises for the incident, but denied that there was "a major data breach".

He added that JustPark informed the Information Commissioner's office of the breach, but since only one of its clients was able to access the information that it was unnecessary to file a formal report.

'Our details are out there now'

The issues was raised by Barry Hamilton, the owner of cleaning service Until It's Done.

He told BBC News NI he "couldn't believe how easy it was" to access the information.

"We were also seeing some of the companies weren't here in Northern Ireland, so it's not just a Northern Ireland issue, this is potentially something for the whole of the UK," he said.

The error was discovered by business owner Barry Hamilton

"Obviously our details are out there now."

As of Friday evening, the Information Commissioner's Office said it had not received a report of a data breach from JustPark.

Organisations are required to notify the commissioner within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach, unless it does not pose a risk to people's rights and freedoms.

If an organisation decides a breach does not need to be reported it is advised to keep a record of it and be able to explain why reporting was not necessary.

'Teething problems'

It replaced previous operator ParkMobile, and last week the company said it had experienced "teething problems".

Several users told BBC News NI they received error messages, incorrect bills and penalty charge notices (PCN).