http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/Meeting+around+computer_1071_18734086_0_0_15823_100.jpg

Small businesses securities 'show cracks'

A security developer has highlighted the dangers small businesses are putting themselves in after research has found "fundamental flaws" in British companies.

Symantec released results from its study which found that UK respondents were among the most vulnerable, with 25 per cent of UK respondents to the survey admitting security breaches that affected business continuity.

Many businesses surveyed did not take on collective responsibility for IT services, with 43 per cent of 874 surveys thinking the job was the sole duty of the IT manager.

Federation of Small Businesses home affairs chairman Mike Cherry noted that the report highlighted the importance of network and IT support schemes that needed to be in place should an emergency hit a company.

He added: "A security breach in any form, and on any scale, can impact a small business hugely, and the higher the awareness is of the need to protect against these threats, the safer the flourishing UK small business sector will be."

PC World Canada also noted that although small businesses may be intimidated by the resources needed to secure data, not having systems in place may be a "more costly decision".

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'