Ex-MI5 boss loses laptop at Heathrow airport

Stella Rimington, the former Director-General of MI5 (Britain’s Security Service), has had her laptop stolen according to media reports.

Dame Stella Rimington made the headlines in 1992 when she was publicly named as the first female chief of MI5, and is believed to have inspired Judi Dench’s casting as spy chief “M” in the James Bond films. Dame Stella has since carved herself a career as a spy novelist.

The former boss of MI5 was said by The Sun newspaper to be “very upset” by the theft which occurred as she left Heathrow airport last Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Police’s SO15 Counter-Terrorism division is reported to have been informed because of possible security concerns.

Although Dame Stella retired from MI5 in 1996, the concern will be that she may still have the…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

Found this article interesting? Follow Graham Cluley on Twitter or Mastodon to read more of the exclusive content we post.

Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.