Technological advances and the growing number of businesses that offer an online service are among the major factors that are causing an increase in the amount of IT crime being committed.

Recent figures from Apacs, the UK's trade association for payments, show that online banking fraud HAS increased dramatically, costing £33.5 million in 2006 as opposed to £23.2 million in 2005. By contrast, card fraud losses went in the other direction, falling from £439.4million in 2005 to £428 million in 2006.

A major cause for this change has been the introduction of more-secure Chip and Pin technology, causing fraudsters to look online for other ways to uncover sensitive personal information. Apacs' stats follow other recent reports showing how many IT criminals are now exploiting alternative methods - like instant messaging services and business backup policies - to launch their attacks.

Commenting on the rising online crime figures, Mark Bowerman, spokesperson for APACS, said: "It [Chip and Pin] has made some contribution. Certainly as you close down one avenue for the fraudsters, we know that they're not going to pack up shop and get legitimate jobs, they're going to look for other areas to exploit.

"There are other contributory factors as well, such as the number of transactions that we make online coupled with the number of businesses that now offer an online service," Mr Bowerman added.

In the face of this growing threat, effective IT security, support and management are all now seen as vital for success for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors.

According to recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent)