Cyber threats rank as being one of the top three security concerns for businesses today, according to new research from Kaspersky Lab.
In a poll of 3,300 IT specialists from 22 countries, half cited cyber threats as a major concern, while 42 per cent expect it to become a bigger problem over the next two years.
Preventing IT security breaches was also considered to be of upmost priority for 31 per cent of respondents, closely followed by protecting data (27 per cent).
However, budget constraints and lack of understanding make this difficult to do, claimed the respondents.
"It turns out that the main problem for IT professionals is their inability to make their management understand just how important corporate protection against cyber-threats is," a spokesperson from Kaspersky Lab said.
Forty eight per cent of IT professionals also claimed to lack the tools needed to protect themselves against intellectual property theft, fraud and industrial spies.
Meanwhile, 31 per cent also claim not to have heard of the most common cyber threats including malware, spyware and worms.
