An investigation into the theft of a of a Royal Navy recruiter's laptop in January has blamed the "Facebook generation" for lapses in security at the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The Report into the Loss of MoD Personal Data (PDF) also revealed that the stolen laptop, which contained the unencrypted personal records for more than 600,000 recruits, was one of four laptops to have been stolen since 2004.

The investigation was conducted by Sir Edmund Burton, chairman of the Information Advisory Council, who warned that today's Facebook generation failed to understand the culture of security which was ingrained during the Cold War.

"These well-developed processes and procedures have not been translated effectively into the information age," he wrote.

"Generally there is little awareness of the current real threat to information, and hence to the MoD's ability to deliver and support operational capability."

The MoD has come up with an action plan in response to the report in which it outlines how it intends to implement the 51 recommendations.

Key changes include a new system of security procedures followed through by audits allowing only qualified users to handle authorised data, and a data-retention policy that complies strictly with the Data Protection Act.

Bill Jeffrey, permanent undersecretary at the MoD, said: "We deeply regret the losses of personal data.

"We have identified weaknesses within parts of the MoD that led to this situation, and I am confident that we are taking the necessary steps to address them."