EXCLUSIVE: The personal information of thousands of Bectu members has been breached in an “IT security incident” at its parent trade union Prospect, Deadline hears.
Members of the film and TV union were emailed this morning with information about the nature of the breach, which Prospect experienced in June. It is not clear who was behind the breach.
In the email, reviewed by Deadline, Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said member information accessed included bank details, contact details, and “personal identifiers” like birth dates and protected characteristics.
A person familiar with the incident said some personal case files, containing highly sensitive information, were also breached, and the members affected are being informed.
“We are very sorry for any concern this may cause,” Clancy wrote in the email. “We have no reason to believe that information relating to you or any Prospect members was specifically targeted and we have no evidence that it has been misused. However, it is important to us that we tell you what has happened and provide support to mitigate any potential risk.”
It is not clear how many people have been impacted, but sources said that it is likely to be the majority of Bectu’s 40,000 members. Bectu is one of the largest UK screen industry unions, with notable members including British filmmaker Ken Loach.
Prospect has informed the Information Commissioner’s Office and the police about the matter. The union has also worked with specialists in an attempt to contain the breach and improve the security of its IT infrastructure. Members have been offered complimentary access to credit and identity monitoring over the next 12 months.
In a statement, Clancy said: “This investigation is ongoing, but we have unfortunately identified that some member information was accessed during this incident. The evidence we have gathered has identified the members that we need to contact about an impact on their personal information. We have written to them with information on what this means for them, and the support Prospect will provide to mitigate risk.
“I would like to reiterate my apology for the concern this incident has caused. We have learnt from this matter, and we are here to support those affected. If you have not received an email from us, you do not need to take any specific action at this time.
“I ask all members to remain vigilant, as it is not uncommon for organisations who have experienced similar incidents to see an increase in scam attempts. We will never contact you and ask you to provide us with personal information or bank details.
“Our operations were not affected by this incident in any way, and members should continue to contact Prospect as usual if you need our support, guidance, or advice.”
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