Politics
Ministry of Defence accidentally sends classified information to Kremlin ally
The Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation after officials accidentally sent emails containing classified information to a Russian allied country.
A “small number” of emails intended for the Pentagon were sent to Mali due to the omission of an “i” from an email address.
British officials sent the messages to an address ending with the west African country’s “.ml” domain, rather than the US military’s “.mil”.
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Last week it was revealed the same error in the US had resulted in millions of military emails going to Mali.
It was argued the scale of the British mishap, first reported by The Times, was very small in comparison.
An MoD spokesman said: “We have opened an investigation after a small number of emails were mistakenly forwarded to an incorrect email domain.
“We are confident they did not contain any information that could compromise operational security or technical data.
“All sensitive information is shared on systems designed to minimise the risk of misdirection.
“The MoD constantly reviews its processes and is currently undertaking a programme of work to improve information management, data loss prevention, and the control of sensitive information.”
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The MoD later clarified “fewer than 20 routine emails” were sent to the incorrect domain.
The privacy watchdog also said it is will be looking into the matter – though it is understood an official investigation has not been launched at this stage.
A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said: “We are aware of this incident and will be making inquiries.”
In response to the original Times report, the department tweeted: “This report misleadingly claims state secrets were sent to Mali’s email domain.
“We assess fewer than 20 routine emails were sent to an incorrect domain and are confident there was no breach of operational security or disclosure of technical data.
“An investigation is ongoing. Emails of this kind are not classified at secret or above.”
Mali was among six African countries promised free grain shipments by Vladimir Putin after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine.
Wagner Group mercenaries have also been deployed to fight alongside the army against jihadists.