Microsoft Outlook email address autofill error leaks passport details of 31 world leaders
US president Barack Obama, the presidents of Russia, Indonesia and China, German chancellor Angela Merkel, and the prime ministers of India, Japan and Britain were among 31 world leaders who had critical details, such as passport numbers, leaked when the Australian immigration department mistakenly sent them to the organisers of the Asian Cup soccer tournament.
The Guardian obtained details of the incident under freedom of information, with the director of the visa services at Immigration and Border Protection contacting Australia's privacy commissioner on November 7, 2014, seeking urgent advice about the breach.
The correspondence details how it happened, with the director explaining:
The person who received it deleted the files and Asian Cup officials did not believe it was stored or recoverable. The immigration official said it was "unlikely that the information is in the public domain", but recommended against telling the G20 leaders of the breach.
The Guardian reports that immigration minister Peter Dutton's office did not respond to questions.
Read more about what happened here.
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