"Every lost or unaccounted device carries a risk for those individuals whose data could be exposed."
More than 1,200 organisational devices were reported lost or stolen between January and December 2024 by 17 government departments.
According to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests into device loss and data breaches by Apricorn, HMRC alone accounted for 804 of these losses - a modest decrease compared to the 1,015 devices lost by HMRC in 2023.
The House of Commons reported 100 devices lost or stolen during 2024, a significant increase from 65 devices the previous year, whilst the Department for Education saw device losses climb from 78 in 2023 to 107 in 2024.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero also reported a rise, from 122 lost devices last year to 150 this year. Meanwhile, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) reported 113 missing devices.
The Ministry of Justice and seven departments are still yet to respond within the deadline, including MoD Police Force, British Army, British Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Marines, UK Health Security Agency, and the Home Office/HM Passport Office.
Jon Fielding, Managing Director, EMEA, Apricorn, said: “Every lost or unaccounted device carries a risk for those individuals whose data could be exposed."
"This growing lack of transparency raises further questions about the true scale of data breaches occurring within government departments and the threat to data. Whilst all departments confirmed their devices are encrypted, they must be supported by strong back-up protocols, inventory control, and employee awareness programmes."
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
