1,000 MoD laptops lost or stolen in last five years in major security breach

More than 1,000 laptops and hundreds of mobile phones and other digital equipment belonging to the Ministry of Defence have been lost or stolen over the past five years, it has emerged.

Official figures show that since 2019, 1,007 laptops, 462 mobile phones, 265 USB data sticks and 183 hard disk drives containing sensitive and confidential data from the heart of Whitehall have gone missing due to loss or theft.

Ministers said all of the department’s equipment was fully encrypted, and each time a device was reported lost or stolen its contents were wiped remotely and accounts locked.

Yet Labour said the scale of the losses still amounted to a glaring security breach, given the equipment belonged to the MoD and could be targeted by hostile states or other bad actors who may be able to bypass security systems.

There would also be a time gap between the device being stolen or lost and it being reported to the MoD’s IT department before it was wiped, potentially allowing the information to be accessed.

The figures were revealed in a response to a parliamentary written question from shadow defence minister Maria Eagle.

There have been previous incidents where ministers and civil servants have inadvertently left their laptops and other devices on public transport, but the contents of any MoD device would be of particular interest to hackers, criminals and foreign security services.

In his written answer, defence minister James Cartlidge said: “The departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department.

“If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries. Any mobile device reported as lost is immediately and remotely deactivated, and the contents are deleted.

“The user account on any laptop reported as lost is immediately and remotely locked.”

The figures do not include devices that were damaged during use and had to be repaired or destroyed.

Ms Eagle, shadow defence procurement minister, said: “With threats to the UK increasing, the theft of IT equipment should be taken with the utmost seriousness.

“Stolen devices could pose a serious risk to our security. Labour knows there is nothing more important than the defence of our nation. The Tories need to get a grip and make sure equipment is kept in safe hands.”

Last year Huw Merriman, the transport minister, sparked a major security alert after his Whitehall laptop was stolen from a central London pub.

Mr Merriman left the device, containing confidential information about train strikes negotiations, under his chair at a Covent Garden bar.

The MoD has been contacted for comment.