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A Cabinet minister has been reunited with an ID pass that he dropped on a Soho street - just as the number of data loss victims was predicted to more than double in 2009. Nearly serving as a case study for the alert that data loss incidents will soar in the coming 12 months, James Purnell left the pass on a pavement after a shopping trip. Tight security at the House of Commons could have been breached by anyone using the pass, which was found in his wallet after it fell from his pocket as he left a taxi. Fortunately for Mr Purnell, who recently left secret documents on a train, it was discovered by a good-natured passer-by, who handed it in at a nearby police station. The embarrassment for the Work and Pensions Secretary comes as KPMG says the number of data loss victims could reach 190million this year, up from 92m in 2008. Explaining its figures, the business advisor said 47.8million people lost data in the three months to November 2008 – more than in the preceding eight months combined. That represents a 38% rise on the number of people hit in the same period of 2007, before the credit crunch took hold, says KMPG’s trace of publicly disclosed incidents. But individuals and companies speaking up about lapses, leaks and losses of data fails to explain why their frequency will spike, as KPMG partner Malcolm Marshall explained. “With increasing economic pressures creating budget constraints, companies will be more vulnerable to the risk of data loss and their consequences. “We anticipate an increase in the number of malicious data theft attempts and believe the financial sector is most prepared to handle this threat.” He warned that other industries, particularly the telecommunications and utilities sectors, could be seen by criminal gangs as “soft targets” for sophisticated attacks. In terms of organisation, those sharing data with external providers and other third parties were the most vulnerable, and US and UK outfits topped the hit-list in 2008. KPMG said high-profile incidents reported last year in the UK, the US, Germany, South Korea and Chile accounted for 91 per cent of the people affected by data loss. Its barometer indicates the total number of incidents for 2008 is 427, compared with 2007 when they were 412 – the highest annual figure since its records began in 2005. Jan 6, 2009 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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