Details of another data breach have hit the UK newswires today, with reports revealing that the National Health Service (NHS) has lost 20 laptops containing sensitive information from one of its store rooms. Whilst eight laptops have been recovered, it has been disclosed that one of the 12 remaining missing laptops containing some 8.6 million medical records, reportedly unencrypted.

We have quite clearly moved on from the time when data could be effectively safeguarded by placing it under lock and key.  It is therefore all the more concerning that such a large institution is still relying on such archaic methods to defend its data.

Organisations who want to truly safeguard their users and their information need to deploy proven tools which manage and protect sensitive data.  That way, even if a device should go missing, it needn’t make the headlines.