Nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of SMEs have no system in place to protect against phishing attacks, according to a survey by vendor Network Box.

The survey also found that thirty-eight per cent of SMEs have no protection against spyware.

Nearly all (99 per cent) respondents have no idea how often their anti-virus protection is updated or have any way of being alerted if the update system fails.

'We do appreciate that SMEs have far fewer resources and expertise than large enterprises, which are far better equipped to deal with IT security,' said Simon Heron, managing director of Network Box.

'However, finding resources is a question of priorities. For any business – large or small – that operates in the online world, effective IT security has to be a priority.'

The survey also says employees of SMEs are likely to be blighted by junk emails – nearly one third (30 per cent) of SMEs do not have an anti-spam solution in place.

Nearly half (48 per cent) of SMEs do not use a web filtering system, meaning employees can access any website, at any time of the day, reducing productivity and company liability.