UK CIOs reported 356data loss incidentslast year, a Freedom of
Information (FOI) request by a software supplier has
revealed.
The FOI request to the information commissioner's office by
Software AG
revealed that within the 356 reported incidents 71 memory sticks
and CDs were lost, 127 devices including laptops were stolen and
there were 24 incidents of
data lost in transit via courier services.
On 78 occasions data was disclosed in error. This included
packages being wrongly addressed and arriving at the wrong
place.
The 356 incidents between November 2008 and September 2009
compared with 190 incidents between October 2007 and November 2008,
said Software AG.
"The chronic problem of data loss should be in decline, and not
increasing, as these figures seem to indicate. Organisations are
failing to learn from previous examples. They continue to gamble
with sensitive data via risky transfers, rather than implementing a
robust infrastructure to ensure information is moved securely,"
said Tim Holyoake, lead technologist at Software AG.
"Few data losses have occurred where organisations have invested
in secure, electronic data transfer technologies. This begs the
question, why aren't CIOs insisting on greater use of these
solutions?"
He added that electronic secure data transfer technologies with
audit capabilities could be a useful enabler for organisations
seeking a reliable system for data sharing. The research comes on
the two-year anniversary of the
loss of 25 million child benefit records by HM Revenue &
Customs.
Read the full response to the FOI request >>