Central government departments across the UK have lost
150 computers to theft in the last six months.
It is unclear whether all the stolen PCs, mainly laptops, were
protected by encryption software, which is available to all
government departments.
Officials listed the number of thefts in response to a
parliamentary question by Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow about
incidents of computer hacking, fraud and theft in each
department.
The Home Office, which takes the lead role in fighting
terrorism, suffered the most computer thefts, with 95 machines
stolen in the first six months of the year.
The Ministry of Defence reported 23 computer thefts, compared
with more than 150 the previous year. MoD staff may now be more
vigilant following a number of well-publicised laptop thefts from
cars and bars suffered by senior military staff in recent
years.
Peter Jaco, chief executive officer of encryption firm, BeCrypt,
said, “If the affected government departments have followed
recommended policies and implemented accredited solutions, all data
on the machines would be protected as it would be encrypted to meet
government security standards.”