The world of social networking never stops being a target for plucky hackers aiming to get the better of those who use it and leave plenty of information on it, according to an expert.

Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, said that MySpace, Twitter and Facebook will always drum up popularity due to their wide use.

He continued: "Social networks are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals, bent on stealing identities, spreading malware, and distributing spam.

"Last year, for instance, I found I was able to see the full date of birth of any Facebook user - even if they had asked Facebook to never display the information."

Mr Cluley added that research by Sophos earlier this year discovered that 66 per cent of companies believe workers are putting their organisation at risk through their use of social networks.

It follows news that Britney Spears had her profile hacked on micro-blogging site Twitter, with the controller claiming that Britney worshipped the Devil before the strange messages were deleted after Ms Spears's management regained control.

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.