SMEs should make sure that employees bringing devices such as USB drives to work are not inadvertently putting the firm's IT security at risk.
David Emm, a senior technology consultant at IT firm Kaspersky, said it was "unrealistic" to stop employees bring such devices to work and, because of this, they should be encouraged to scan them for virus.
He said: "There are potential risks, there's no question, because much more of what we do now, at work or in personal time, is online. It's really a question of giving sensible advice to your staff."
Mr Emm added that one of the best ways to do this was to make IT security advice relevant to the individual. He suggests that bosses might want to highlight the potential security risks of using online banking at work as a way to get the message across.
According to research by Websense, 45 per cent of businesses have had their IT systems infected by a virus. It added that the downloading of inappropriate content by employees was a common cause.
