'No lost memory sticks' shocker for gov't dept

It had to happen sooner or later

NEWS

While seemingly a week doesn't go past without another government data loss as a result of a mislaid memory stick, one government department has made a shocking revelation: it hasn't lost any for several years.

In a written answer to Parliament, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Goggins revealed that no memory sticks or desktop computers have been lost or stolen from his department between 2001 and 2008.

Figures prior to 2001 are not available, Goggins said in response to a question by Paul Holmes, Lib Dem MP for Chesterfield.

However, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) wasn't exempt from technology going missing.

According to Goggins, five laptops and one hard drive were stolen over the last seven years, while 22 mobiles were lost and six were reported stolen.

Despite the losses, the NIO still shines compared to other government departments.

In response to written questions this week by Holmes, the Department of Transport reported 14 memory sticks, 21 laptops, 10 desktops, one hard drive and 15 mobiles lost or stolen between 2003 and 2008 and the Department for International Development confirmed it had had one memory stick, 39 laptops and 28 mobiles lost or stolen between 2001 and 2008.

Comments

There is 1 comment. Join the discussion

  1. 1. Karen Challinor

    "In a written answer to Parliament, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Goggins revealed that no memory sticks or desktop computers have been lost or stolen from his department between 2001 and 2008"

    impressive however I have a couple of questions

    how many usb sticks and desktop computers were used over that period ?

    how can they guarantee no copies of data were made on non departmental usb sticks or external disk drives that are not in the accounting loop

    • 18 November 2008 15:22
    • Add comment

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your silicon.com account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy.

Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Membership FAQ

Get silicon.com's daily newsletter

  • Register on silicon.com

    Enter your email to register

Keep in touch with silicon.com

silicon.com newsletters