By RTE.ie

 The Data Protection Commissioner is investigating whether the personal data of thousands of people was compromised during the attack on the Fine Gael website yesterday.

1 of 1  Fine Gael website - shut down by hackers The Data Protection Commissioner is investigating whether the personal data of thousands of people was compromised during the attack on the Fine Gael website yesterday.

Data Commissioner Billy Hawkes confirmed that Fine Gael contacted his office following the website attack.

The Fine Gael website was forced offline last night after hackers attacked it removing the content and posting a message referring to censorship by the political party.

Fine Gael rebranded its main website, finegael.ie, last week as finegael2011.com and invited members of the public to post comments and register their mobile numbers and email addresses to receive campaign messages.

Mr Hawkes has confirmed that he has been contacted by Fine Gael in relation to the attack, as the party suspects that the personal data of those who posted comments or registered their details has been compromised.

By Ailish O'Hora, Irish Independent

Gardai are expected to send a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the coming weeks following an investigation into the suspected sale by a civil servant of personal information on hundreds of claim-ants to a private detective.

The civil servant, who was working in the Department of Social Protection, has been suspended and gardai and the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) have been investigating the incident for a number of weeks.

It is understood the DPC has also raided the private investigator's office and the premises of three insurance firms to gather information on the claimants.

By Ronan McGreevy, The Irish Times

THE GAA’s entire membership database containing details of over half a million people was stolen and copied, it has emerged.

The details included dates of birth, mobile and landline numbers and e-mail addresses along with sensitive medical information about 544 players. It also contains names and addresses of the GAA’s 167,175 players who are under 18.

The theft was first notified to the association on November 19th, but the information was only made public yesterday.