The recent controversy surrounding BT's business IT trials using the Phorm internet tracking service in an allegedly illegal way has seen the Open Rights Group express concern about online privacy.

BT, Virgin Media and Talk Talk are due to deploy the technology, which analyses websites visited by internet users, creating unique profiles of keywords on the websites they visit.

The group focuses on raising awareness of issues such as privacy, identity, data protection, access to knowledge and copyright reform.

Becky Hogge, executive director of Open Rights Group, states: "I do not think people's concerns are being addressed. I'm concerned that the claims that Phorm breaks Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) are not being investigated."

She added: "The ICO say they are not the competent office to investigate the RIPA violations, and the Home Office, who should investigate, have so far kept quiet."

In an interview with Computer Weekly, Phorm chairman Kent Etrugrul said that Phorm software destroys links containing users' information, such as IP addresses, immediately thereby preserving users' privacy and preventing their identity being stolen.

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'