The increased use of the Internet and e-commerce initiatives has increased security spending among Asian enterprises, according to IDC.

In the recent "Internet Security Concerns in Asia/Pacific" survey, 97 per cent of all enterprises surveyed indicated some form of Internet security in place.

"But security solutions weighed more heavily toward off-the-shelf anti-virus products and less toward robust, high-end solutions," said Nathan Midler, senior analyst, Internet and e-business research, IDC Asia-Pacific.

Midler said 60 per cent of enterprises surveyed felt their greatest security threat is virus attack, while 22 per cent perceived hacker attacks as the overriding threat. A sizable 72 per cent of enterprises reported they previously had experienced an Internet security breach, and 39 per cent felt the volume of security threats to their organisations has increased during the last year.

"The perception that security threats are increasing, coupled with further integration of e-business in the Asian workplace is driving enterprises to look beyond anti-virus software towards more advanced security measures include disaster recovery services and encryption," he said.

As enterprises begin to use the Internet more heavily to do business, the importance of their network's security rises. With seven out of ten enterprises having experienced a security breach in the past, the need for protection is further driven home.