Ministry of Defence loses 650 laptops

Posted on 21 Jul 2008 at 15:32

In the latest case of a high profile organisation losing laptops carrying important data, it has been reported that the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) has had over 650 laptops, along with 20 memory sticks, stolen over the past four years.

The MOD admitted that a recent report on data losses carried out by Sir Edmund Burton had highlighted a number of areas where it needs to improve in their protection of data. However, the Ministry claimed Burton found that its policies and procedures were "generally fit for purpose".

Following the loss of laptops and memory sticks, the MOD claims it has now developed an action plan to deal with the issues identified by Burton. It is also formulating a formal system of punishment to reprimand those who lose or compromise the Ministry's data.

The MOD will now launch an internal awareness and education campaign, establish a unit to monitor central data protection compliance and assign individuals for each department's business area to be held accountable for the protection of personal data.

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota

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