The IT security threat posed by malware has grown dramatically, a new survey has found.

The ScanSafe Global Threat Report found that IT security threats such as viruses, Trojans and password stealers were up by 61 per cent in the second half of 2007.

It also found that an increasing number of legitimate sites are unwittingly playing host to malware and that the owners of these websites are taking longer deal with the issue.

Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at ScanSafe, said: "This malware is remaining active on sites for weeks and in some cases months, leaving users exposed and representing a huge window of opportunity for cyber criminals."

She added that malware can damage a firm's productivity as well as causing data loss and compliance risks.

Yesterday Alan Calder of IT Governance warned that firms needed to make sure that their IT security procedures are well thought out as haphazard plans can be counter productive.

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'