By Cara Hene, Digital News Editor
The personal email addresses and full names of 58 society instructors were visible to Student Group committee members with access to the 'coaches, instructors and skilled volunteers' system.
In an email sent October 21 to those directly affected, the Students' Union wrote:
‘...due to an error in our approved coaches, instructors and skilled volunteers system, a number of student group committee members unrelated to the group you work with, were able to see your full name and email address when they shouldn't have been able to.
‘We sincerely apologise for the error and any inconvenience it may have caused. The system has now been corrected, and we’ve taken steps to ensure this issue will not happen again.’
The SU defines coaches, instructors, and skilled volunteers as ‘someone who has the qualifications and/or experience to coach, instruct or lead the activities of a student group.’
Another, separate email from the SU was sent on October 21 to all society presidents and club captains with access to the coaches, instructors and skilled volunteers system, to inform them of the breach.
‘... due to an error in the system, you had access to information about the approved coaches, instructors and skilled volunteers for all student groups, which you shouldn’t have had,’ the email reads.
Epigram is aware of ten club captains/ presidents who have been contacted by the SU, though it is not clear as of print time how many societies or committee members in total had access to the data.
Among the confirmed recipients are: Womens’ Hockey, Athletics and Cross Country, Bristol Climbing and Mountaineering, Canoe Club, and Book Society, though it is likely many more had access to the system.
If it learns of a data breach, the SU ‘will inform anyone who has been affected so that they can take appropriate protective steps’, according to their website,
The SU said in a statement to Epigram,
‘On Tuesday, Bristol SU identified a data breach involving the names and email addresses of 58 registered coaches, instructors, and skilled volunteers supporting our student groups. This information was inadvertently made accessible to Student Group committee members. No billing or financial data was included.
‘We understand this may cause concern and disruption, and we’re truly sorry for the distress this has caused. We are actively working through our internal Data Communications Plan, and we have ensured that everyone affected received timely, accurate, and compassionate updates.
‘If you believe you may be affected or have any questions, please contact bristol-su@bristol.ac.uk with “Data Breach - Support” in the subject line.
‘We apologise for the incident and remain committed to learning from this and strengthening our data handling practices.’
Featured image: Epigram / Sophie Maclaren
