Thousands of Storage Drives Lost at UK Intelligence Agency, and No One Can Say How Many

The UK's signals intelligence agency, GCHQ, has lost thousands of storage drives that may contain sensitive information, according to the annual report of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO). Officials have known about the problem for years, yet the agency still cannot say where the drives are or exactly how many are missing. The report describes the figure as "a very significant number" and says some of the drives may hold data related to the Investigatory Powers Act.

Investigatory powers commissioner Lord Brian Leveson said he remains concerned that GCHQ has not built a clear picture of the scale, location and recoverability of the lost removable media. He noted that the passage of time without a full account raises the importance of sustained senior attention. GCHQ has worked out a maximum possible number of lost drives, but not the exact total.

The agency says it is running further work to find as many devices as possible, including an automated asset-tracking system due by the end of the year, which it expects will give a more precise count. A GCHQ spokesperson told The Register that its previous system for managing removable media was not robust enough to track registered items, and that it has acted on all of IPCO's recommendations.