Cyber concern as Parliamentary staffers lose circa 100 devices in two years

The data shows that there were 11 incidents of devices being reported as lost on trains with three left on a bus and six lost in a car over the two-year period under examination.

In addition, 16 devices went missing ‘on estate’, while 13 reported were reported missing ‘off estate’. One tablet was stolen in a hotel and a laptop was stolen on the London Underground across the two years.

In total across the two-year period, 19 devices were reported as stolen and 47 were reported as lost. Of the total number of devices reported missing, only 17 were subsequently located and found.

Goldmine of confidential data

Edward Blake, area vice-president for the EMEA region at Absolute Software, explained to Security Matters: “Devices used to carry out Parliamentary duties will contain a goldmine of confidential data that could be lethal if it fell into the hands of cyber criminals. It’s critical that Parliamentary authorities have the necessary systems in place to track missing devices, enabling them to freeze and wipe lost or stolen laptops, in turn protecting public data from fraudsters.”

Blake continued: “If a lost laptop ends up in the wrong hands, the organisation in question could be facing a far more costly predicament than first anticipated. Sophisticated cyber criminals can steal the data contained on these devices, access more businesses files or intercept e-mails between colleagues, all with relative ease once a device has been compromised.” 

On that basis, Blake stated: “It’s more critical than ever to have a permanent digital connection to every endpoint, as well as the ability to lock, freeze or wipe the device if it’s believed to be at risk of being compromised.”