Lost laptops ground UK business travellers

UK business travellers lose up to 8,500 mobile devices in the country's airports every year, research has claimed.

Those travelling from major London airports are the most unlucky, with more than 400 laptops and 2,500 other mobile devices lost annually, according to a survey by information security company SafeNet.

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And business professionals using airports in the North West of England misplace more than 100 laptops and 800 mobile gadgets - including BlackBerrys, phones and USB sticks - every year, the survey reveals.

But despite this, and the rising levels of laptop theft and high-profile examples of data loss, businesses are failing to understand the need to encrypt their hard drives or better protect sensitive data, according to separate research conducted by silicon.com.