Sky employee data on stolen laptop

A laptop stolen from an employee of accountancy firm Deloitte contained the personal details of Sky employees who are members of the company's pension plan.

The names, salaries and National Insurance numbers of the affected Sky employees are understood to be part of the data present on the stolen equipment. The majority of the data was encrypted and held behind user ID and password controls.

"We believe this was an opportunistic theft and the laptop is protected by a number of security measures," a Sky spokesperson said. "These factors combined means that the risk of the data being accessed or misused is extremely low.

"We take the protection of member data extremely seriously. The trustees have written to all affected members of the BSkyB Pension Plan to ensure they are fully informed of the situation."