Companies in the UK should show more interest in protecting their data records by using encryption systems on a more regular basis, it has bene suggested.

According to Joseph Hoban, the vice president of protection software firm GuardianEdge, the recent spate of data loss incidents should act as a warning to firms, while he added that there may be more scandals "on the horizon".

To protect against such an event, Mr Hoban urged the government to increase the financial penalties for being guilty of a data breach.

He compared the current UK system to that in the US, telling ZDNet: "American organisations understand that prevention is cheaper than cure - and implementing encryption technology is cheaper than the cost of a data breach.

"The UK government needs to follow suit and introduce financial penalties."

This follows suggestions from a House of Commons committee that firms or individuals found guilty of reckless action that led to an IT data security breach should face criminal proceedings, which could result in a fail sentence.