Over 2,000 pieces of IT equipment were lost or stolen from Government departments in the period 2011-2012, it has been revealed.
The information was obtained by Labour's Cabinet Office shadow minister, Gareth Thomas, in response to a request to the House of Commons.
According to [a hreaf="http://central-government.governmentcomputing.com/news/government-departments-release-data-on-missing-it-equipment" target="blank"]a report by Government Computing[/a], all departments have now responded, with the exception of the Department for Education and the Cabinet Office.
Of the 2,070 items that have gone missing, 1,058 have come from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The majority of these items fell into the other' category of IT equipment, which includes USB sticks, DVDs and CDs, and was also the largest category of loss and theft across all departments.
Furthermore, 206 computers, 24 mobile phones and 34 BlackBerrys also disappeared.
Thomas said he found the number of devices and IT kit that went missing "incredible" and called for a clamp down.
"Ministers should be doing all they can to make sure vital equipment and data are kept secure," he added.
In response to the MoD figures, a spokesperson told Government Computing: "The MoD takes the loss or theft of equipment very seriously and works hard to detect and deter theft.
"Where theft does occur and a suspect is identified, prosecution of internal disciplinary action will follow as appropriate," the spokesperson added.
The MoD was also one of the few departments to submit raw data, which does not account for any recovered items.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Home Office mislaid only 53 items, four of which were recovered. This figure is only representative of 2011, as 2012 statistics were not provided.
-
The UK cybersecurity sector is worth over £13 billion, but experts say there’s huge untapped potential if it can overcome these hurdlesAnalysis A new report released by the DSIT revealed the UK’s cybersecurity sector generated £13.2 billion over the last year
-
"Thinly spread": Questions raised over UK government’s latest cyber funding schemeThe funding will go towards bolstering cyber skills, though some industry experts have questioned the size of the price tag
-
Threat of cyber attacks to national security compared to that of chemical weaponsNews The UK government has raised the threat level posed by cyber attacks, deeming it greater on average than an event such as the Salisbury poisoning
-
Capita tells pension provider to 'assume' nearly 500,000 customers' data stolenCapita told the pension provider to “work on the assumption” that data had been stolen
-
2022 Public Sector Identity Index ReportWhitepaper UK Report
-
UK and Japan strike digital partnership to collaborate on IoT security, semiconductorsNews The two countries are also set to align their approaches to digital regulation to make it easier for companies to operate in each nation
-
Defra's legacy software problem 'threatens' UK gov cyber security until 2030News The department spends over two-thirds of its digital budget on maintaining the risky applications, with no plan in place for a fix within the decade
-
Netherlands urges citizens to prepare survival kits in case hackers target critical infrastructureNews The latest campaign from the national coordinator for security echoes the growing concern in the UK government over serious cyber attacks
