London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Bank of England audio leak followed loss of key cybersecurity staff

Bank of England audio leak followed loss of key cybersecurity staff

Exclusive: former employees say at least 20 security staff were reassigned or left in past year
The Bank of England restructured its security department and lost multiple senior employees in charge of protecting some of Britain’s most critical financial infrastructure shortly before it suffered a major breach, the Observer can reveal.

After the central bank admitted that hedge funds had gained early access to its market-moving press conferences via a backup audio feed, multiple former employees contacted the Observer to warn that the Bank was struggling with the departure of key staff responsible for protecting it against external threats.

The sources said at least 20 of the Bank’s staff tasked with information security had left or been reassigned elsewhere within the bank within the past year, raising questions over the protection of the nation’s payment systems and other critical infrastructure vital for the British financial system. The Observer was able to verify 13 of these departures using information from social media and other sources.

The revelations come at a sensitive time for the Bank as it prepares for the handover of power in March from Mark Carney, the outgoing governor, to Andrew Bailey, the current chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Threadneedle Street has also played a central role in efforts to improve the safety and integrity of the financial system since the 2008 banking collapse, including warning the industry to improve its cyber and information security operations. It is responsible for key parts of the nation’s critical infrastructure, including the payments systems that carry every bank transfer made in Britain, the wages of millions of people, cheques, and payments between businesses of all sizes. On an average day in 2018, the Bank’s real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) settled transactions worth £651bn.

According to the former employees, the Bank’s chief information security officer and two deputies have left in the past year.

Multiple former employees described the organisation as beset by budget cuts before Carney’s departure, against a backdrop of concerns over cost efficiency. They said there were problems with staffing given the departures and low staff morale.

Much of the disquiet stemmed from a move to dismantle the Bank’s “security and privacy” directorate, the people said. The team, part of the central services division, previously had oversight over cyber, personnel and physical security matters, as well as privacy. Staff and responsibilities were instead spread across other parts of the organisation.

It is understood that many of the people now sit under the Bank’s technology, security and risk directorates, in a move designed to make the organisation safer. The Bank has about 70 cybersecurity professionals.

A Bank of England spokeswoman said: “The Bank operates the highest standard of information security and is confident in our ability to recognise cyber threats and defend our systems appropriately. Earlier this year, the Bank completed a review of its central services target operating model and, as part of that, reinforced the arrangements for first- and second-line information security. This change was fully supported by the Bank’s audit and risk committee.”

The Bank admitted late on Wednesday night that it had suffered a security breach, with a provider of a backup audio feed of the governor’s market-sensitive press conferences selling early access to unnamed investors without its knowledge. Those investors could have used the few seconds’ advantage to profit.

It was alerted to the breach by the Times newspaper, conducted a rapid internal investigation and passed the matter to the FCA. The City watchdog has confirmed it is investigating the issue, and it is understood that Bailey will recuse himself from all discussions of the matter to avoid any suggestion of a conflict of interest.

The Bank’s chief operating officer, Joanna Place, is the most senior manager responsible for physical and information security, and faced calls to resign from a former member of the Bank’s monetary policy committee, Danny Blanchflower, following the breach. Place, who was appointed in July 2017, reports directly to the governor, and has an equal status to the Bank’s deputy governors.

Multiple sources said the Bank was under pressure to cut the budget of the central services division, which was managed by Place. They said the government spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, warned in December 2018 that the Bank needed to deliver better value for money.

Place told the Commons’ public accounts committee in January that the Bank did not “have any gaps in cybersecurity”. However, her chief information security officer, Cameron “Buck” Rogers, resigned little over a month later. Multiple other security experts followed him.

A spokeswoman for the Bank said Rogers resigned on 23 February and that Place was not aware he was going to quit when she gave evidence on 21 January.

At the hearing, Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the committee, expressed surprise at Place’s answer, given the difficulties other public-sector organisations had with recruiting and retaining cyber security staff, and asked again if there were any vacancies.

Place responded: “Offhand, I do not know whether we have any vacancies, but we do not have a problem with recruiting and we do not have a problem with retention in cyber, either.”

There was widespread unease within the Bank following her testimony, multiple sources said, and in the months after her appearance the cybersecurity function suffered the outflow of staff.

The public sector struggles to retain staff in cybersecurity roles because of intense competition from the higher-paying private sector. However, the reputation of the Bank and its important role in protecting financial stability are attractive for potential candidates, and the sources said they believed it was in the public interest to shed light on the problems it was facing.

A Bank of England spokesperson said: “The incident relating to the misuse of a backup audio feed from the Bank’s press conferences by a third-party supplier, which the Bank has referred to the Financial Conduct Authority for further investigation, was not a cyber security issue.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×