Privacy watchdog warns of "horrifying" breaches

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) Banks, shops and government departments have exposed thousands in Britain to the risk of fraud through ''horrifying'' breaches of data protection laws, a watchdog said today.

In his annual report, Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, whose office enforces the Data Protection Act, said firms must do more to secure people's private details.

''The roll-call of banks, retailers, government departments, public bodies and other organisations which have admitted serious security lapses is frankly horrifying,'' he said in the report.

More people are expected to fall victim to privacy breaches as the Internet continues to play a bigger part in their daily lives, he added.

''We are leaving this electronic footprint right through our daily lives,'' he told BBC radio. ''People really do demand strong controls over how this information is being used.'' There is also a ''thriving and lucrative'' market for illegally obtained personal information, such as bank account details.

Thomas highlighted a range of breaches in the last year: -- Banks have dumped plastic sacks containing customers' statements, loan applications health insurance forms and cut-up credit cards near high streets.

-- Some firms allows laptop computers to be used outside their offices without adequate protection for staff and customers' private details.

-- A job application Web site for junior doctors was dogged by a catalogue of security breaches that allowed access to other people's personal details.

-- Millions of store card details were not secured.

The Information Commissioner's office received 24,000 complaints and inquiries last year.

The most common complaints were about inaccurate data, unwanted telesales calls and the disclosure of personal information. The report will be published at www.ico.gov.uk.

Reuters KK GC1511