UK — Two councils fined for the loss of unencrypted laptops

The ICO has handed out monetary penalties of £80,000 and £70,000 to Ealing Council and Hounslow Council, respectively, after two unencrypted laptops containing sensitive personal data of around 1,700 individuals were stolen from the home of an employee of Ealing Council. This means that three of the four fines issued by the ICO since April 2010 are concerning the loss or theft of unencrypted portable media.