RNLI fears staff data stolen after far-Right targets members

Members of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) have been warned that their data might have been stolen by hackers amid a heightened threat from far-Right agitators.

RNLI volunteers have suffered online and physical abuse since the charity brought 120 migrants ashore earlier this month after rescuing them from a dinghy in the English Channel.

Online security experts have warned that the identities of RNLI members could have been leaked or fallen into the wrong hands after a cyber-attack on a third-party software provider.

In a letter accompanying the autumn copy of its Lifeboat magazine, the charity warned supporters that their “name, details and records of interactions with the RNLI” could have been breached in the raid on Beacon CRM.

The RNLI said it was advised last month by the provider to “assume that data held within its systems was taken” in a cyber-attack which affected around 1,500 charities in late July.

“At this stage we’re not aware of any misuse of your personal information and have no evidence that your information has been published or shared,” the charity added.

The RNLI has suspended its services in Portsmouth since its staff were subjected to relentless abuse and branded “traitors” by anti-migrant protesters.

Peter Sparkes, the charity’s chief executive, condemned abuse of its volunteers as “wholly unacceptable in civilised society”, adding that the RNLI worked to save lives at sea irrespective of whose they are.

The latest data breach has fuelled concerns that lifeboat volunteers will face “doxxing”, which involves the publication online of a person’s address.

Dr William Allchorn, a senior research fellow at Anglia Ruskin University’s International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute, said that those on the far-Right could exploit the data breach amid the animosity being whipped up by politicians and pockets of the internet.

“They use open source maritime tracking and end-to-end encryption, but beyond that I don’t know how sophisticated their set up is,” he told The Telegraph.

“It is the chill effect,” he added. “For those on the fringes of the movement this information could be quite key.”

Dr Allchorn also suggested that foreign actors could obtain and the data to stir discontent.

“It is not entirely implausible,” he said, citing the Russian disinformation campaigns during the Southport riots .

“If one of these anti-migrant groups puts it out there, we could also see it being amplified through these bot networks,” he said, adding: “The narrative of decline works in favour of UK adversaries.”

Jon Trickett , the Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, condemned the far-Right for targeting the charity.

He told The Telegraph: “It seems clear that an organised minority are intent on intimidating volunteers.

“Threatening people is immoral and it’s almost illegal. The police should give careful attention to this matter.”

Mr Trickett, who signed an early day motion in Parliament demanding unreserved support for the charity, added: “RNLI volunteers represent the very best of us.

“We are an island nation and we have always been proud to help all who are ‘in peril on the sea’. Long may this tradition last.”

Jake Moore, a global cyber-security adviser at ESET, a leading European cyber-security company, urged RNLI volunteers to remain vigilant.

He said: “Publishing someone’s name, photograph and address can quickly turn online intimidation into a physical risk, and there are even certain chatbots that can help shape a profile on people from the information they can find on someone online.

“Just one post can reach thousands of people, and it only takes one individual to decide to take matters further and make serious threats.”

Mr Moore said those targeted should report threats to the police and request a takedown where possible.

Lisa Nandy , the Culture Secretary, has vowed to “tighten up the law” to make doxxing a criminal offence in the wake of threats against volunteers.

The behaviour is currently only illegal if it is done with clear intent to cause fear, alarm and distress.

On Wednesday, Ms Nandy said she was “appalled” that RNLI volunteers were being “doxxed online”.

She said the Government “will not hesitate to take action” to make clear that “where people’s addresses are being published online, that is an offence and action has to be taken swiftly”.

RNLI volunteers have been advised to remove their badges while in public.

A spokesman for the RNLI said: “Beacon CRM works with many charities and organisations across the UK and Ireland, and while they cannot confirm exactly which records were accessed or downloaded, it advised all affected organisations, including the RNLI, to assume that data held within its systems was taken.

“At this stage, there is no evidence that information relating to RNLI supporters has been published, shared online or otherwise misused.”

The RNLI has said 109 of its 9,058 lifeboat launches last year were for people “in distress in the Channel” – 1.2 per cent of its total rescue work.