Nearly three-quarters of the managers polled by YouGov for the nCircle Cost and Confidence Research report consider security issues a "fact of business life".

Almost 40% said their business' network was breached last year, while the same number expect to fall victim to a cyber attack this year. But worryingly, about a third didn't know whether they had been "got at" during 2005 - despite a 15% increase in spending on computer security measures.

Kevin Lamb, from nCircle - which is a security solutions provider - said:

"It's time for security professionals to stop and rethink their information security strategies, unless they wish to embrace a future of endless spending and diminishing returns."