- Device loss from UK governmental departments tops 2000 in just one year
- Experts fear stolen devices could provide entry points for hackers
- Phone and tablet thefts pose risk despite widespread encryption
Have you ever lost a phone or computer and worried about what someone might find on it?
Thousands of devices have gone missing from UK government departments in the past year, raising serious concerns about cybersecurity and data protection.
Analysis by The Guardian, based on freedom of information disclosures, found the government lost over 2,000 laptops, phones and tablets in the past 12 months, with a replacement cost estimated at around £1.3m.
Surprisingly large numbers
The Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Defence, and the Cabinet Office each reported hundreds of missing tech items.
The Ministry of Defence alone recorded 103 missing laptops and 387 phones in just five months of 2025. Other departments affected included HM Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Home Office.
“We treat all breaches of security very seriously and we require all suspected breaches to be reported. All incidents are subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis,” an MoD spokesperson said.
Playing down fears, the defence department added, “Encryption on devices ensures any data is safeguarded and prevents access to the defence network.”
This sentiment was echoed by the Bank of England, which said it “takes the security of devices and data very seriously and has suitable protection in place.”
The same official line was trotted out by a government spokesperson who said, “We take the security of government devices extremely seriously, which is why items such as laptops and mobile phones are always encrypted so any loss does not compromise security.”
Professor Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert at the University of Surrey, wasn’t quite so reassured, telling The Guardian, “These are surprisingly large numbers. When you are talking about so many [it creates] a large attack surface [for hackers]. If 1% were system administrators who had their phones stolen, that’s enough to get in.”
He added, “If devices were open when stolen, as frequently happens with phones snatched on the street, criminals could keep them open and drill down into the device and once the phone is open, by design it is readable and accessible.”
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waynewilliams@onmail.com (Wayne Williams)
