MoD laptop theft adds to government data woes

Laptop losses at the Ministry of Defence will only add to government woes

The UK government has suffered some serious data losses recently, so the news that laptops have been stolen from the Ministry of Defence will have been met with much disappointment.

However, Des Browne, Defence Secretary, was forced to admit that two further laptops were also stolen in 2000 and 2006, following the recent theft of the Royal Navy laptop, which contained details of 600,000 people. The Conservative Party blasted Browne after revealing statistics that showed that more than 600 MoD laptops and PCs have been stolen since 1998.

Browne admitted that none of the data on all three laptops were encrypted, but the MoD has made efforts to contact 3700 people whose bank details were on the machine and have also made relevant banks aware of the situation.

The MoD said that it is treating the loss with the 'utmost seriousness', despite not providing a statement until nine days after the theft.