SAS computer hard drive lost in latest security blunder

Apr 12 2009 by Jeanette Oldham

A laptop containing personal details of 600,000 military recruits was stolen from a car last January. It also emerged about 658 MoD laptops had been stolen in the previous four years.

The security lapses followed a series of high-profile blunders by Government departments.

The biggest was in November 2007 when Chancellor Alistair Darling admitted that computer discs holding personal information on 25 million people had gone missing.

There have also been embarrassing losses of details of thousands of prisoners and justice staff, driving test candidates, applicants to the armed forces, NHS patients and secret Government files.

But the Ministry of Defence spokesman insisted that data security was improving.

‘‘The MOD continues to make good progress to ensure the security of personal and sensitive information and we have prioritised the most sensitive systems that need protection,’’ he said.

‘‘We have already encrypted 20,000 laptops that were not previously protected to the level required by current MoD and Government policy.

‘‘A large proportion of the systems that are not accredited are under development and are not processing live data. We have ensured that those systems that are not yet fully accredited are protected by other means.

‘‘This is a new system of accreditation, introduced in response to the Hannigan and Burton reports, and will take time for full implementation.”