Personal details including the passport numbers of U.S. President Barack Obama and 19 other world leaders at last year’s G20 summit were inadvertently released by Australia’s immigration department, British newspaper the Guardian reported Monday.
An official mistakenly sent the passport, visa and other details of all leaders at the summit to local organizers of the Asian Cup football tournament, which was held in Australia in January, the newspaper reported.
The recipient immediately destroyed the data and the information was not distributed further, a spokesman for Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection told CNN.
Besides Obama, world leaders at the summit, held in the Australian city of Brisbane in November, included Russian President Vladimir Putin, China’s President Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, among others.
A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection told CNN in a statement that the “breach was immediately referred to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.”
“The Department has reviewed and strengthened its email protocols to limit and contain future breaches.”
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