Thousands of UK government laptops, phones and tablets have been lost or stolen | Cybercrime
Thousands of British governments have disappeared or stolen, announced the freedom of information and triggered “systemic risk” warnings to the country’s cyber security.
The Ministry of Labor and Retirement recorded 240 missing laptops and 125 losses in 2024; In the first five months of this year, the Ministry of Defense recorded 103 lost laptops and 387 losses. The cabinet office, which coordinates government activities, lost or stole 66 laptops and 124 phones in 2024.
According to the freedom analysis of freedom of information, the cost of changing more than 2,000 missing devices recorded in 18 Whitehall department and public officials last year is working over £ 1.3 million in the year of the figures. The Bank of the UK, the HM Treasury and the Ministry of Interior were among the other departments where dozens of telephones and laptops disappeared.
Cyber security experts, losses, even if most of the hardware is encrypted, computer pirates can provide a return to government systems, he said. One called it a “great national security risk ,, but the government underestimated the danger, saying that encryption prevented access to bad actors.
“These are surprisingly numerous,” he said, Woodward, who received Cyber Security Specialist Prof of Surrey University, said. “While talking too much [it creates] A great attack surface [for hackers]. If 1 % were system managers who steal their phones, it is enough to enter. “
He said that if the devices are open, the criminals can keep them open and that they are “read and accessible with design after entering the device and opening the phone.”
The Ministry of Defense said there were solid policies and procedures to prevent losses and thefts. “Encryption on devices allows the protection of any data and preventing access to the defense network.” He said.
The Bank of the UK said that it takes the safety of devices and data very seriously and has a suitable protection ”.
A government spokesman: “We take the security of government devices extremely seriously, so products such as laptops and mobile phones are always encrypted, so that no loss of safety does not endanger.”
He added that every loss or theft has been investigated.
“The device seems to be quite high,” he said, Nick Jackson, a Cyber Security Company Bitdefender’s chief information security guard. “Just gets a lost one [device] To compromise a network. It poses a systemic risk and is a potential more seriously taken, especially when the access and connections that the department will have. “
After the bulletin promotion
He said laptops may have encryption, but tablets or phones offer a greater risk.
Jackson said: “The biggest risk is that the devices themselves could access precise information and authentication genets.
Science, Innovation and Technology Department responsible for cyber security, lost or stolen or stolen until May 2025 and recorded 83 telephones and 18 laptops. In 2024, the Inner Office, which controls policing, disappeared more than £ 85,000 at the estimated replacement cost of 147 devices.
A mode spokesman said: “We take all the security violations very seriously and we want all suspicious violations to be reported. All events are subjected to the first security risk by making more transactions.”
“Lost devices come from public sector departments, especially when they have a large amount of sensitive data, to defend the health departments and to be protected according to all their costs and should be protected according to all their costs.”
