Key government and consumer websites have been attacked by hackers, according to a report in the Times newspaper.

The Asprox virus has been placed on more than a thousand websites, including certain NHS and local council IT services, in the past two weeks, the report suggests.

It says that experts are alarmed by the virus because it is being spread through mainstream websites, rather than rogue emails or unregulated sites.

Security sources are said to believe that as many as two million computers may have been infected worldwide, with victims' personal details being at risk of theft.

The newspaper quotes a spokeswoman from the payments organisation Apacs: "There is a responsibility on website owners to ensure that they have sufficient security software installed so that criminals are not able to easily compromise their sites."

Earlier this month, research from ProcessOne found that the majority of UK companies have now banned the use of public instant messaging (IM) on their computer networks due to security fears.

However, three-quarters of firms said they believe IM could serve a valuable purpose for their organisations.

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