UK Government Hit by Another Data Leak

By Greg McNevin

March 4, 2008: The security of UK government data is again under scrutiny after a disc containing highly confidential information belonging to the British Government Home Office somehow found its way into the body of a laptop sold on eBay.

The disk was discovered by a computer technician working on the laptop, which was brought in by a customer who purchased it off ebay. When dismantling the machine, the Leapfrog Computers technician found the disk hidden beneath the keyboard. 

"I thought it was a spoof at first - I just figured someone was having a joke," said the technician to the BBC, adding that the disc was marked "Home Office - highly confidential. If found please return."

 The Home Office claims the security risk is minimal as the data on the disc is encrypted and that it is currently investigating the security breech.

The incident follows a number of high-profile cases of government information leaks, including last year's ongoing HMRC saga where 25 million records of benefit recipients went missing in the mail.

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