About 52% of UK individuals have lost their mobile phone carrying sensitive work data when drinking, exposing a ‘culture of carelessness’ towards work devices and corporate information, a new Trend Micro report revealed.

Highlighting several ‘security blackspots’, the report noted that about 26% of individuals lost or had their device stolen on the London Underground, while 25% of them reported losing devices at the Central and District lines.

About 44% of them lost their devices on commuter routes on the way home from work, while additional 22% of them lost their mobile device on the way to work.

The report also added that over one-fifth of respondents lost their devices or stolen in a bar, 11% in a café and 8% in a restaurant.

Trend Micro Global VP Security Research Rik Fergusonat was cited by the Telegraph as saying that people need to be more careful with work devices; if they lose their device and it’s not secure the could be held liable for further losses to their business from fraud.

"You could end up paying for much more than the cost of the phone if the company is financially impacted by the data theft," Fergusonat said.

"If you’re not sure what the procedures are once a device is lost or stolen speak to the relevant department within your company to ensure that you’re device is protected.

"A password lock is the easiest and most effective mechanism that everyone should be using to guard personal and work data."

Majority of losses and thefts occurred at night, with 18% of them lost a mobile between the hours of 11pm and 6am, and an additional 14% losing their devices between 7.30pm and 11pm.

However, laptops were subject to go missing at lunchtime, with 33% of them losing their devices between noon and 2pm.

About 44% of smartphone users have been not more concerned regarding the data loss on work phone, including photos and banking details, while 3% of them were worried about allowing cybercriminals to access sensitive business information.

In addition, over 57% of smartphone users do not have a password lock on their work phone, facilitating hackers to accumulate massive of personal and corporate data for identity and corporate fraud.