British watchdog reveals data security breaches

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - British companies and government departments have suffered an "inexcusable number" of security breaches since the loss of millions of personal details last year, a watchdog said on Tuesday.

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said he had been told of 94 data breaches since November, with two-thirds from the public sector and half from financial institutions.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered an urgent review after the tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it had lost data on 25 million people, exposing them to the risk of identity theft and fraud.

The watchdog said the government, banks and other organizations must make data security a priority.

"It is particularly disappointing that the HMRC breaches have not prevented other unacceptable security breaches from occurring," Thomas said.

"The government, banks and other organizations need to regain the public's trust by being far more careful with people's personal information."

The breaches included the loss of laptops, computer discs, memory sticks and paper records, he added. Some were stolen, others lost in the post.

The losses included a wide range of personal details, such as financial and health records.