KEY POINTS:
British companies and government departments have suffered an "inexcusable number" of security breaches since the loss of millions of personal details last year, a watchdog said.
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said he had been told of 94 data breaches since November, with two-thirds from the public sector and half from financial institutions.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered an urgent review after the tax authority HM Revenue and Customs said it had lost data on 25 million people, exposing them to the risk of identity theft and fraud.
The breaches included the loss of laptops, computer disks, memory sticks and paper records. Some were stolen, others lost in the post.