Viruses and malicious code attacks have become a fact of life for the modern business. According to the Global Information Security Survey, the vast majority of businesses across the world consider security breaches and attacks as more of a threat to their businesses in 2004 than they were in 2003.

Some 81 per cent of businesses in Europe, and 83 per cent of those in North America, see viruses and other malicious code attacks as an increasing problem.

And the bulk of organisations are attributing this increased threat to a rise in the sophistication and sheer volume of attacks.

"Over the past 12 to 18 months, the threat from viruses has been very widely publicised in the media and everyone is more aware of it," explained Jose Lopez, programme manager for network security at analyst Frost & Sullivan. "More recently, we've seen the first mobile phone virus, which extends the threat."

According to figures from US research firm Computer Economics, the global financial impact of viruses was $12.5bn (£6.8bn) last year.

Security attacks are on the rise, and companies need to act accordingly, explained Yan Noblot, information security manager for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

"Cyber attacks and computer viruses have increased significantly in the two and a half years since the Salt Lake City Games," he said.

"Therefore, in preparation for the Athens 2004 Games, IT security is one area where new technology has been implemented.

"[IT provider] Atos Origin has implemented the latest monitoring technology to ensure the accurate, real-time delivery of competition results to billions of people around the world throughout the Games.

"In addition, Atos Origin has significantly reduced the number of internet connections and increased control over these connections to reduce susceptibility to outside attacks."

According to the survey, 87 per cent of North American respondents attribute the threat to increased virus sophistication, compared with 77 per cent of European firms, 82 per cent in South America, and 64 per cent in Asia-Pacific. In the UK, the figure is 87 per cent.

Organisations also feel more vulnerable because they now have new targets for criminals, such as wireless networks. Some 79 per cent see new ways to attack as a threat.

The Global Information Security Survey found that worldwide, 64 per cent of businesses have experienced a worm or virus attack in the past year, an increase on the 2003 figure of 45 per cent.

Some 19 per cent of companies have been hit by denial of service attacks in the same period, compared with 15 per cent in 2003.

There is widespread consensus throughout the industry that viruses and worms are increasing in sophistication, as well as volume.

"Simple viruses are spreading quite rapidly," said Richard Archdeacon, director of technical services at antivirus specialist Symantec.

"There are a number of reasons for that. It's a lot simpler to write these viruses and it's simpler to pick up an existing virus and reuse it."

Phil Cracknell, chief technology officer at security specialist NetSurity, added: "No-one has any conclusive proof. But the viruses and the virus writers have now started to adapt and move away to second-generation viruses. They are more of a worm, a multi-layered, multi-tiered virus, and they're far more penetrating."

Noblot believes that email is playing a significant role in the rise of viruses across the globe. "One of the main reasons for the increase in security breaches and malicious code is the rapid increase in email-borne exploits that not only deploy viruses, but spyware and other malicious content," he explained.

"These methods ultimately place a great deal of risk inside the corporate network perimeter. Securing the email infrastructure can be very effective in not only reducing malware, but to reduce spam for corporate users.

"Additionally, programmes to improve the levels of protection at each client workstation are becoming vital to quickly contain virus infections within the perimeter. Security awareness campaigns to promote safe email use across the organisation can also be an effective measure."

The research shows that 47 per cent of European companies stopped a worm or virus penetrating their security defences in the past year, as did 39 per cent of respondents in North America, 29 per cent in South America and 26 per cent in Asia-Pacific.

In the UK 41 per cent of companies said they had managed to stave off attacks. Blaster was the most penetrating virus, followed by MyDoom.B and Sobig.A.

Lopez pointed out that, although the industry is doing all it can to keep up with viruses and other attacks that are increasingly damaging operating systems, it is not enough to prevent attacks.

"Antivirus companies are doing their best, but most of the time it's a catch-up game for them. Microsoft is also doing its best, and has even delayed the release of some of its new products in order to improve their security and reliability," he said.

"Users need to patch their systems, but it's difficult to get them to do this. It's a behavioural issue, so we're seeing vendors do more work in this space to get around this. This is a step ahead, but it may not be enough."

Patching is fast becoming a costly and time consuming chore for businesses across the globe. "Patching is a major issue," said Archdeacon. "I think it's the issue that many operational IT people are facing. We believe there were more than 2,000 vulnerabilities in the past year, so you can see how many patches are coming through."

So what of the future of viruses and malicious attacks? The prognosis doesn't look too optimistic.

Tim Pickard, European strategic marketing director at RSA Security, said: "The time it takes to understand a known vulnerability, and the time it takes to get a virus out to exploit that vulnerability, is about six hours. The number of patches released is also increasing."

And Cracknell added: "Viruses are going to continue evolving. Over the next two or three years there's going to be more of the same and there will be lots of these flaws in things that are open."