Written answers

Thursday, 9 October 2025

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Departmental Equipment

Photo of Naoise Ó CearúilNaoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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92. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to confirm if any staff devices (laptops, phones, USBs) containing departmental information or sensitive data were reported lost or stolen in the past five years; the number of devices reported; the data risk involved; and the associated cost of mitigation. [54385/25]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The number of devices lost or stolen is as follows:

Year Phone Laptop
2020 2 -
2021 9 2
2022 11 2
2023 10 4
2024 10 1
2025 11 4
The use of USB devices on departmental devices is not permitted.

The Department has clear procedures in place in relation to the loss, theft and replacement of devices. Staff receive training on their obligations regarding departmental data and on protocols to follow if devices are lost or stolen. To protect all data and to ensure low risk, all devices are encrypted and immediately wiped on receipt of notification of a device being lost or stolen.

The expenditure on data loss mitigation and related cyber security measures is integrated within the overall ICT expenditure.

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