Cybercrime 'could increase as comms move online'

There is "every chance" the level of cybercrime could rise as communications increasingly moves online, it has been suggested.

David Blackwell, director of cybersecurity at information intelligence expert Detica, said the growth of the industry will lead to more avenues for criminals to try and exploit.

However, Mr Blackwell went on to state that firms that provide digital telecommunications solutions including VoIP services can do a lot to curb this prospective growth in dishonesty.

Defence mechanisms can be developed to protect businesses and consumers from the harmful effects and hopefully "even bring it down in the not too distant future", the expert remarked.

"It's a rising problem, but we would hope through the actions of businesses and the actions of industry working with government, that we can actually stem that increase," he explained.

A recent report by IT security software vendor Kaspersky Lab showed there were 580 million web-based attacks on user's computers in 2010, eight times the amount recorded in the year previously.