The United Kingdom's information commissioner is <A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6196022.html?tag=nl.e550">calling on chief executives</A> to take the security of customer and staff information more seriously.

"The roll call of banks, retailers, government departments, public bodies and other organizations which have admitted serious security lapses is frankly horrifying," Richard Thomas wrote in a report. "How can laptops holding details of customer accounts be used away from the office without strong encryption? How can millions of store card transactions fall into the wrong hands?"

The Information Commissioner's Office received almost 24,000 inquiries and complaints concerning personal information, and it prosecuted 16 individuals and organizations in the past 12 months, according to its annual report for 2006 and 2007.