So-called malicious insiders may become more prominent as more people lose their jobs across the country, Microsoft believes.

Doug Leland, who manages the software giant's identity and security unit, tells the BBC that further redundancies are likely to lead to a rise in people taking advantage of their company knowledge and posing security risks.

"These people help proliferate the spread of confidential data, which makes it easier for malicious insiders to get a hold of it," confirms Kevin Rowney, founder of Symantec's data loss prevention unit.

He names "revenge, fear and greed" as the primary reasons for data security threats by former employees, reports the BBC.

The Office for National Statistics has revealed that the UK experienced record numbers of both unemployment and redundancies last year, adding that there has been a significant decrease in the number of people in full-time employment.

Unemployment rates, however, are at their highest since August 1997.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.