Companies to invest in broadband protection

Companies' broadband security investments are predicted to become more complex as basic authentication becomes insufficient to protect against fraud.

According to Gartner, 15 per cent of companies are likely to adopt a layered approach to network security in the coming three years in order to shut out the risk of fraud attempts.

This compares with more basic earlier efforts to secure business broadband connections against incoming attacks - such as firewalls and authentication protocols.

Avivah Litan, vice-president and distinguished analyst for Gartner, says: "Malware-based attacks against bank customers and company employees are levying severe reputational and financial damage on their victims."

One example of this is the recent hacking incident that hit the PlayStation Network, a global community of console gaming enthusiasts.

The attack led to the network being unavailable for about a month, with an enforced software update and password change required before consoles around the world were allowed to reconnect.