Addresses of 110,000 UK gun owners leaked online

Publication of data described as ‘worst-case scenario’ after gun owners urged to ‘be extra vigilant’

A man stands with a shotgun as wheat is harvested in a field in England (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The names and home addresses of more than 110,000 UK gun owners have been leaked online, prompting fears for the safety of those implicated in the data breach.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) and specialist police officers are investigating the breach of the Guntrader website’s database, which the trading platform admitted in July had affected tens of thousands of its users, but reportedly said at the time that “no information relating to gun ownership or the location of firearms was taken”.

This week, tech news site The Register reported that the stolen information had been dumped online via an animal rights activist’s blog which explicitly advertised the information as being importable by anyone into Google Earth – allowing readers to easily map the addresses and “contact as many [owners] as you can in your area and ask them if they are involved in shooting animals”.

However, in addition to animal rights’ activists, some gun owners have raised fears that they could be targeted by criminals.

One individual, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the BBC in July that the breach “seriously compromises my security arrangements for my firearms and puts me in a situation where me and my family could be targeted and in danger”.

Attila Tomaschek, of the ProPrivacy group, told the broadcaster: “Some of the data is reportedly over five years old, meaning that a number of the addresses likely no longer even belong to the gun owners included in the leak, putting an even greater number of individuals at risk.”

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation’s (BASC) head of firearms, Martin Parker, said the group is “pressing to ensure the agencies get to the bottom of this”, adding: “It was already a significant breach of data, but this latest development is particularly concerning.”

The BASC has urged its members to “check home security and be extra vigilant” and to “make sure all firearms are appropriately locked away and make sure buildings are kept secure”. It also referred gun owners to safety advice issued by the NCA.

Google is understood to have since removed the file, linked to by the activist’s blog, from Google Drive.

While the data is reported to have initially been published on the dark web, The Register’s security and legal correspondent, Gareth Corfield, who reported on the breach, suggested the compilation of the leaked addresses into an easily mappable file was “a worst-case scenario”.

Writing on Twitter, he added: “I'm immediately thinking of section 58(1) Terrorism Act 2000, which makes it a crime to collect information likely to be of use to a terrorist.” The crime carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, he said.

Christian Ashwell, criminal firearms threat lead at the NCA, said the agency “is aware that information has been published online as a result of a recent data breach which impacted Guntrader”, adding: “We are working closely with the South West Regional Cyber Crime Unit, who are leading the criminal investigation, to support the organisation and manage any risk.

“If you have been affected by this incident or see anything suspicious, please report it to your local police.”

Guntrader advertises itself as “the UK's premier destination to buy or sell new and used shotguns, rifles and shooting equipment”, and The Register reports that the leak likely implicates around one in five gun owners in the UK.

Guntrader did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but told the BBC that “we continue to work with the relevant authorities to mitigate the impact of this data theft”.