THE Bank of Ireland is being accused of negligence following the revelation that it lost four laptops containing the details of around 10,000 life assurance customers. The laptops were stolen from four different staff members between June and October last year, but the Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes was only informed of the thefts last Friday.The bank has admitted that the information on the computers was not encrypted, although lesser forms of security, such as password protection, were in place. Experts said that still meant that the information on the laptops could be easily accessed by a computer professional.One laptop was stolen from a branch of the bank. The other three were taken from cars. The thefts have sparked a major security alert at the bank, and the Consumers Association has urged the data commissioner to take strong action. The association said the bank deserves to pay a high penalty for its negligence and failure in its duty to customers.Security experts said the bank could face legal action from thousands of customers, as well as fines of up to $160,000 because of the security breach.Three investigations are under way into the thefts -- one by Hawkes, a separate internal bank probe, and one by the financial regulator which is responsible for the regulation of all financial services firms in Ireland. It also has an important role in the protection of the consumers of those firms.The laptops contained details of medical backgrounds, life assurance and bank accounts, as well as the names and addresses of up to 10,000 Bank of Ireland customers. All are clients of its insurance and pension policies wing, Bank of Ireland Life."We were told about this incident on Friday and given preliminary information. We've asked for further information and will be investigating this situation further," said Hawkes.In a statement the bank said, "The thefts of the laptops were only brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities in the bank in the past number of weeks. A full internal investigation is underway."The bank said it was planning to contact all of the customers affected. The statement added, "In the interim the bank has monitored all of these customer accounts and can confirm that there has been no evidence of fraudulent or suspicious activity.Bank of Ireland governor Richard Burrows blamed an "internal bungle" for the situation, which he said left him "horrified."He gave an assurance that if any customers lose money following the thefts they will be fully compensated by the bank, but he was confident that none of the information stored on the computers had been illegally used.Burrows said no member of staff had yet been suspended over the loss of the sensitive data. He said it was much too early for disciplinary action as the investigations had only started.Managing director of Bank of Ireland Life Brian Forrester told RTE Radio that there was a "systems failure and a procedural failure." He said the bank was in the process of fully encrypting all its 5,000 laptops.A spokesman was unable to explain why all four thefts came to the attention of the bank in recent weeks, months after they had actually occurred. It is thought some form of internal audit may have resulted in the disclosure of the information.The thefts are the second major public embarrassment for the bank in recent years. In 2005, it admitted to mistakenly overcharging 65,000 customers up to $24 million in payment protection insurance, cover that repays customers' loans if they cannot meet repayments due to permanent disability, redundancy or death.Earlier this year there was controversy when a laptop belonging to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, and containing the personal details of over 170,000 blood donors, was stolen in New York.However, this information, unlike the records now stolen from the Bank of Ireland, was encrypted.