Unencrypted laptop holding data of 75,000 customers stolen from Irish energy firm

Irish energy provider, Bord G??is, has seen an unencrypted laptop containing the bank account details of 75,000 of its customers stolen from its Dublin offices. The theft occurred on 5th June 2009, but has only just been revealed as the garda?­ was following a particular line of investigation.

Jamie Cowper, Director of Marketing EMEA, at PGP Corporation, has made these comments:

“This latest data breach shows that, despite countless previous incidents, companies still haven’t learnt the importance of protecting customer data. Bord G??is needs to make it clear why it was necessary for a significant number of customer records to be on an unprotected machine.

“As we enter a digital age, companies are storing increasingly large volumes of data. This means proven technologies, such as data encryption, must be rolled out so that company data is always protected – wherever it is stored and regardless of who is in possession of it.

“Whilst Bord Ga?­s has since rolled out encryption to all of its laptops, there remains the question of why this was not already standard procedure. Data encryption should be a preventative measure, not reactive, and in this case would have saved the company reputational damage and potentially costly financial consequences. Most importantly, it would have kept customer data totally secure.”