GCHQ has apparently lost thousands of storage devices in recent years and
has no idea where any of them are

Date:
Mon, 02 Nov 2026 13:05:00 +0000

Description:
A recent watchdog investigation into GCHQ confirms missing storage devices
are still a problem.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter 'Thousands' of GCHQ storage devices are missing or unaccounted for Most are likely protected by
encryption or PIN access Watchdog is 'concerned' and 'disappointed' The UK's intelligence and cybersecurity agency, GCHQ, has been slammed by its very own watchdog after failing to account for thousands of missing storage devices.

The 2025 Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) report ultimately concluded GCHQ has failed to establish the location or status of thousands of removable storage devices such as USB sticks, external hard drives and memory cards. While the exact number of devices is unconfirmed, the IPCO report does confirm the estimate to be "in the thousands" and that's a GCHQ estimate,
not a third-party estimate. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: GCHQ has seemingly lost thousands of USBs, external drives, memory
cards "There is a programme of further work to locate and account for as many of these devices as possible," the report adds, noting that "GCHQ will be
able to report how many devices have been confirmed as lost."

Nevertheless, the IPCO expressed disappointment at how long investigations
and remedial action had taken the problems were actually first brought to
the watchdog's attention years ago, so it's not a newly discovered issue. "We remain very concerned about this issue and are disappointed with the time it has taken GCHQ to investigate." You may like Cops have breached one of iOSs most secure features, report claims G7 tells businesses to get ready for quantum cybersecurity threats US military troops can still be hit by targeted attacks despite disabling ad tracking on their devices and leaders aren't happy

The issue was already raised in the IPCO's 2024 report , when the watchdog confirmed that it has asked GCHQ and MI5 to "review their internal allocation and audit of removable media" the year prior.

Back then, it was already acknowledged that many of the missing devices were either encrypted or required a PIN to access, however given the intense sensitivity of many of these artefacts, significant risk could still be on
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The latest report acknowledged the technical and practical difficulties involve with the ongoing investigation, but calls for continued senior-level oversight." According to the report, GCHQ has commissioned a new tool to monitor the issue. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/gchq-has-apparently-lost-thousands-of-storage-de vices-in-recent-years-and-has-no-idea-where-any-of-them-are


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