Could human error be the cause of many data loss cases?

Data loss breaches which have been recorded in the US could be caused more because of human error than the work of cyber thieves, new research has highlighted.

According to statistics by the Software Advisor, around half of the 288 HIPAA breaches listed on the US Department of Health and Human Services' website were caused by physical theft.

Just 16 per cent of these attacks were blamed on unauthorised access to the data, while another 14 per cent were found to have occurred due to incidents of carelessness, such as a laptop being misplaced.

Hacking itself was found to have only been a factor in six per cent of the cases studied, despite widespread concern over this issue.

In the UK, the NHS has found itself in a data loss incident of its own, after a laptop went missing containing the medical records of millions of people, according to The Sun.

A source warned: "This laptop would be a devastating tool in the hands of a blackmailer."