The Cabinet Office, the UK governmental body responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet, has reported almost 800 electronic devices lost or stolen in the past three years, according to official figures.

The data, retrieved via a Freedom of Information Act request and analysed by litigation firm Griffin Law, observed the number of electronic devices reported lost or stolen each year for the past three financial years, FY 19-20 to FY 21-22.

In total, the Cabinet Office reported 791 laptops, mobiles, Mifi wireless routers, and other devices either lost or stolen, 61% of which, 479, were mobile phones.

Laptops accounted for 28%, 219, of the devices, while Mifi’s made up 38 devices and a further 55 ‘other’ devices were reported missing.

The financial year 2019-20 saw the most devices lost or stolen with 435, as organisations transitioned from their offices to remote working as a result of the pandemic.

The news comes after Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney exposed a number of government departments for misplacing devices, labelling it as “deeply worrying.”

Cybersecurity expert Achi Lewis, Area VP EMEA for Absolute Software, commented: “It is a tricky task for large organisations, including the Cabinet Office, to manage a vast workforce of staff and devices, especially through unprecedented circumstances like the pandemic.

“These organisations represent an example for many businesses and as such need to ensure they have the proper cybersecurity solutions and protocols in place to both prevent and manage the loss of devices.

“Leveraging resilient zero trust solutions and secure access controls can help to give organisations control of misplaced or stolen devices, allowing them to externally freeze or shut down endpoints such as a laptop or phone and prevent a malicious actor from accessing company data.

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“This should also come alongside training into the dangers of misplacing devices and the importance of ensuring they are properly protected.”

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