Latest news with #dataLoss
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Thousands of UK government laptops, phones and tablets have been lost or stolen
Thousands of UK government laptops, phones and tablets worth more than £1m have been either lost or stolen, freedom of information disclosures have revealed, triggering warnings of a 'systemic risk' to the nation's cybersecurity. The Department for Work and Pensions recorded 240 missing laptops and 125 missing phones in 2024; while in the first five months of this year the Ministry of Defence recorded 103 missing laptops and 387 missing phones. The Cabinet Office, which coordinates government activity, lost or had stolen 66 laptops and 124 phones in 2024. The replacement cost of the more than 2,000 missing devices recorded across 18 Whitehall departments and public authorities in the last year for which figures are available is running at about £1.3m annually, according to Guardian analysis of freedom of information responses. The Bank of England, HM Treasury and the Home Office were among other departments where dozens of phones and laptops went missing. Cybersecurity experts said the losses could enable hackers to create backdoors into government systems even if large parts of the hardware were encrypted. One called it 'a huge national security risk', but the government downplayed the danger, saying that encryption prevented access to bad actors. 'These are surprisingly large numbers,' said Prof Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Surrey. 'When you are talking about so many [it creates] a large attack surface [for hackers]. If 1% were system administrators who had their phones stolen, that's enough to get in.' He said that if devices were open when stolen, as frequently happens with phones snatched on the street, criminals could keep them open and 'drill down into the device and once the phone is open, by design it is readable and accessible'. The Ministry of Defence said it had robust policies and procedures to prevent losses and thefts. It said: 'Encryption on devices ensures any data is safeguarded and prevents access to the defence network.' The Bank of England said it 'takes the security of devices and data very seriously and has suitable protection in place'. A government spokesperson said: 'We take the security of government devices extremely seriously, which is why items such as laptops and mobile phones are always encrypted so any loss does not compromise security.' It added that every loss or theft was investigated. 'The device loss seems quite high,' said Nick Jackson, the chief information security officer at Bitdefender, a cybersecurity firm. 'It only takes one lost [device] to compromise a network. It poses a systemic risk and is something that could potentially be taken more seriously especially given the access and connections that department will have.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion He said laptops were likely to have encryption, but tablets or phones presented a greater risk. Jackson said: 'The biggest risk is that the devices themselves will have access to sensitive information and authentication tokens. If someone was able to gain access to those they would be able complete authentication processes on any government application or government website that they shouldn't be able to access.' The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is responsible for cybersecurity, recorded 83 phones and 18 laptops lost or stolen in the year to May 2025. In 2024, the Home Office, which oversees policing, had 147 devices go missing at an estimated replacement cost of more than £85,000. An MoD spokesperson said: 'We treat all breaches of security very seriously and we require all suspected breaches to be reported. All incidents are subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.' David Gee, the chief marketing officer of Cellebrite, a digital forensics and cybersecurity firm that works with the Metropolitan police, said: 'Missing devices pose a huge national security risk, especially coming from public sector departments where they hold vast amounts of sensitive data. From healthcare departments to defence, staff phones and laptops must be protected at all costs, and keeping data safe in these government agencies should be a top priority.'
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
85% of Organizations Experienced Data Loss in 2024: New DataNumen Report Reveals Alarming Trends
Sheridan, Wyoming--(Newsfile Corp. - May 29, 2025) - DataNumen, a global leader in data recovery solutions, has released its highly anticipated Data Loss Statistics Report 2024, shedding light on the severity, causes, and consequences of data loss incidents across businesses worldwide. According to the report, an overwhelming 85% of organizations experienced one or more data loss incidents over the past year. Even more concerning, 93% of businesses that suffer prolonged data loss lasting more than 10 days go bankrupt within a year, underscoring the catastrophic impact such events can have on long-term business viability. Key Findings: Hardware failure remains the leading technical cause of data loss (40-44%), followed by human error (29-32%). 33% of users send at least two misdirected emails annually—posing a major risk for data exposure. The average cost of downtime ranges from $427 per minute for small businesses to $9,000 per minute for larger enterprises. 93% of companies suffering data loss for more than 10 days file for bankruptcy within one year. Only 38% of businesses have a mature Data Loss Prevention (DLP) program in place. "Our research confirms that data loss is not just an IT issue — it's a critical business risk," said Chongwei Chen, President & CEO of DataNumen. "The consequences go beyond lost files. We're talking about massive financial losses, operational disruption, reputational damage, and in many cases, the end of the business itself." The report also highlights the growing threat of generative AI misuse, with AI-related alerts rapidly becoming one of the most frequently implemented data loss prevention rules. About DataNumen DataNumen is a world-renowned data recovery company serving customers in over 240 countries and regions. Its award-winning software is trusted by Fortune 500 companies, governments, and consumers worldwide to recover lost or damaged data from all types of storage media. For more information about DataNumen and its products, visit Links: Company website: Report URL: Data Loss Statistics Report 2024 Media Contact: Alan Chen DataNumen, Inc. E-Mail: pr@ To view the source version of this press release, please visit Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
