Laptop Secrets: UK Defense Ministry is missing a computer

An investigation is underway after yet another laptop containing secret data was stolen from the UK Defense Ministry’s headquarters.

The notebook computer went missing at the ministry's London office in Whitehall in late November. A ministry spokesman said a key used to decode encrypted files was also stolen.

Shadow Defense Secretary Liam Fox said the theft was "extremely worrying." He added, “I'll be seeking clarification from the Secretary of State as soon as possible.”

The earlier figures suggest that as many as 28 laptops had been lost or stolen from the Defense Ministry between January 1 and May 11 of this year. The department also admitted that 658 of its laptops had been stolen in the past four years.

As a result of one such incident, personal information belonging to 600,000 people who applied to join the services was lost. The data included National Insurance numbers and bank details.