Companies and public bodies are not doing enough to protect customers' data, the UK's privacy watchdog and a major survey of security have said.
The Information Commissioner said that the 94 security breaches reported to him last year was an "alarming" number.
The survey of more than 1,000 firms suggested that almost 90% of them let staff leave offices with potentially confidential data stored on USB sticks.
Firms and public bodies were urged to make data protection a priority.
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said of the 94 data breaches, two thirds were committed by government or other public sector bodies.
Data had been recovered in only three of the 94 cases, he said.
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