Companies are planning to improve their defences against data loss in 2008, according to industry experts.

Fears that firms could suffer the same type of security breach as HM Revenue and Customs are fuelling this drive for added security, the ChannelWeb Network reports.

Ted Julian, vice president of marketing and security for Application Security, told the website: "There's no question that all of these breaches are driving people to rethink their priorities in terms of security.

"People are saying 'let's step back and realise our data is under siege, what's of value that we need to protect and where is it?'"

It was noted that financial concerns may be playing a large role in this shift of attitude towards extra network support and security as the blow to public confidence in the firm after a data breach could see its share price suffer.

David Vergara, director of product marketing of data security for CheckPoint, told ChannelWeb: "There are all kinds of studies that show that customers don't want to do business with companies that have experienced a breach."