Businesses operating websites which allow for consumer user accounts should do more to protect their customers and stop hackers, according to a security expert.

Senior technology consultant at Sophos Graham Cluley said that although hacking was far from a trend, enforcing good password credentials and preventing people from running automated dictionaries could make a big difference for the consumer.

He added that attacks on websites such as Twitter - which recently embarrassed Britney Spears and a number of other celebrity users - could have been avoided if the owners used such tools.

Mr Cluley suggested: "If you have five failed attempts to log in to an account within 30 seconds then why not block that account from being accessed at all for the next 15 minutes? That would make these dictionary attacks unfeasible."

According to a study carried out by Accenture last year, 88 per cent of 800 respondents put personal irresponsibility at the top of the list of causes of identity fraud and theft.

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).