Left in a pub: thousands of Londoners' personal details

Unencrypted memory stick handed in to police but ICO opts not to fine

Personal details of thousands of London residents were found in a pub after a contractor for two London housing bodies left behind an unencrypted memory stick.

It contained details of more than 20,000 tenants of Lewisham Homes and 6,200 tenants of Wandle Housing Association. Nearly 800 of those residents' records contained bank account details.

The memory stick was handed in to the police.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has opted not to fine the housing associations but has told them to make sure that all portable devices used to store personal information are encrypted.

All staff, including contractors and temporary staff, are also to be monitored to ensure that they are taking the appropriate precautionary measures when handling personal information, the ICO said.

"Saving personal information on to an unencrypted memory stick is as risky as taking hard copy papers out of the office," said Sally-Anne Poole, acting head of enforcement at the ICO.

"Luckily, the device was handed in and there is no suggestion that the data was misused. But this incident could so easily have been avoided if the information had been properly protected."