Gun-selling website Guntrader has fessed up to a major data breach affecting more than 100,000 customers, after the personal details – including names and addresses – of 111,000 British firearm owners have been leaked online in a map showing exactly where they live.
The site, which claims to be the UK’s premier destination to buy or sell new and used shotguns, rifles and shooting equipment, emailed customers late last month to offer its “sincere” apologies.
The National Crime Agency confirmed it is investigating the incident. It added: “We are working closely with the South West Regional Cyber Crime Unit, who are leading the criminal investigation, to support the organisation and manage any risk.”
The file pinpoints to individual domestic homes as likely firearm storage locations, as well as postcodes, phone numbers, email addresses and IP addresses.
It was leaked online via an animal rights activist’s blog, where the stolen reformatted database was advertised as being importable into Google Earth. Readers were encouraged to “contact as many [owners] as you can in your area and ask them if they are involved in shooting animals”.
Google says it has now removed the file from Google Drive that was linked to from the activist’s blog, while the incident has also been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The British Association for Shooting & Conservation has also issued a statement, which reads: “BASC is concerned about this latest development. We have flagged those concerns to the National Crime Agency. In the meantime, we advise the shooting community to maintain vigilance around security and report any concerns to the police.”
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