The ongoing scandal of lost mobile phones in the UK Ministry of Defence

Official figures show that 269 mobile phones were lost or stolen at the UK Ministry of Defence between January 1 and February 27, a figure that even exceeds the total of similar cases in the previous two years (262). The information, disclosed by James Cartledge, the shadow defence secretary in the Conservative government, shows a 10-fold increase in the rate of lost mobile phones compared to before the election.

In response to the figures, Cartledge described them as “unprecedented and staggering”, and said: “It is truly unacceptable to see a 10-fold increase in the number of MoD phones lost or stolen. In February alone, 145 phones went missing, compared to 19 in July. We need a clear explanation from ministers and a clear plan to stop this trend.”

The report has sparked a political backlash, with some MPs warning about the security risks. Mark Francis, the shadow defence secretary, said: “It is truly worrying to hear that hundreds of MoD phones – and with them sensitive data – have gone missing. The MoD should be more aware of the importance of information security than any other department, but this shows a serious failure.”

Some experts believe that the Ministry of Defence phones have advanced security standards that prevent unauthorized access to their information, but this does not guarantee complete security of the information.

In response to the revelations, the British Deputy Defence Secretary Luke Pollard tried to downplay the scale of the scandal, claiming that the unusual increase was due to two specific incidents during which the “digital equipment inventory” of a military unit was updated.

He went on to say that breaches in the registration and management of equipment were the main reason for the increase and that “improved management processes” would lead to the number of cases falling in the future. However, his explanation failed to alleviate the security and administrative concerns raised by the report.

The Daily Express newspaper reported, citing government sources, that many of the phones were about to be retired and were due to be scrapped, but security experts believe that even this explanation is not acceptable, because it is not clear how or why this volume of digital equipment got out of control.

Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrat defence spokeswoman, said in a blunt criticism of the scandal: “These figures are shocking and should raise alarm bells about the potential breach of national security. If these phones contained sensitive information, who is to ensure that this information has not now been released to the wrong people?”

She added: “The MoD says the increase in figures is due to breaches in the registration and management of equipment, but this only raises further questions about how the department is managed.”

This is not the first time that the UK MoD has faced accusations of management incompetence in the area of ​​information security. It was recently reported that more than 100 laptops and 40 USB sticks containing sensitive military information were stolen from the MoD, which forced the government to implement stricter rules.