Brits are worth a potential total of GBP 361 billion to cyber-criminals, it has been claimed.

Computerweekly.com reports the findings of a survey conducted by IT security firm VeriSign which found that UK internet users are sharing personal data on websites that are poorly protected against hackers.

According to the firm, the average UK consumer is worth £10,077 online, meaning a total of £361 billion could potential be lost through identity theft, something which may prompt firms to invest in greater IT security measures.

The figure is the total amount kept in online accounts which include banking, gaming and shopping website.

According to the survey, 75 per cent of people freely give away their date of birth, something which only worsens the risk.

In related news , IT security firm Finjan, announced last week it had uncovered a database containing the details of 8,700 severs from private and public sector firms.

According to a 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) In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were 'guaranteed response times' and 'allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues'.