Eighty-seven per cent of network managers and managing directors think the security threat to corporate networks will grow during the next five years, according to a report commissioned by Siemens Network Systems.

When asked if they thought threats to network security were likely to change, 57 per cent said they will increase significantly and 30 per cent said they will increase by some extent.

Siemens said that the current practice of extending the network to suppliers, customers and partners means that security must be given higher priority, as any weaknesses affect external relationships.

Peter Halls, managing director of Siemens Network Systems, said that without a complete understanding of potential threats, no amount of investment in products and resources will secure a company's electronic assets.

"In ecommerce, the security of a company's network must have top priority as no network will mean no business. Security is an ongoing process - it cannot be done once and then forgotten. This survey suggests that UK companies need to take a serious look at their network security arrangements," he said.

Halls said that the survey's conclusions were borne out by recent high-profile security breaches.

Khalda Parveen, an analyst at Gartner, said that the problem came from a lack of knowledge from those in the boardroom. "In many cases these CEOs are failing to attribute sufficient budget to the issue of securing their businesses, mainly due to their lack of awareness of the scope of the problem," he said.

Only 30 per cent of the directors questioned believed that the majority of UK companies pay enough attention to security.

The survey was conducted by the David Lewis Consultancy and was based on a nationwide survey of 300 senior network managers and managing directors from firms with more than 500 staff.

First published in Network News.