Laptop Thefts Feature In record Year For Data Loss

Research suggests that in one way or another a staggering 37 million items of personal data were lost in the UK in 2007.

The majority of the lost information disappeared in the much publicised losses from government departments and public services - councils, NHS trusts, licensing authorities etc, but losses were also suffered by private companies including chain stores and the financial services industry.

Information resulted from a number of causes including (spectacularly!) CDs lost in the post, hacking, accidental publication of sensitive material, laptop thefts and even personal information being dumped in rubbish bins.

There is pressure for loss of personal information to be a criminal offence in circumstances where Data Protection principles are knowingly disregarded. Leaving a Laptop in an unattended vehicle is likely to fall into this category.

One small crumb of comfort comes in an announcement from West Mercia Police who say that in the six months from June to November last year, Laptop thefts from vehicles in parts of their area were down by 48 per cent compared to the same period in 2006.

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