SMEs are more aware of cyber-crime than ever before but it still remains an issue, one industry body believes.
A spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that members were now a lot savvier when it came to dealing with suspicious emails and phishing scams.
However, the potential threat of cyber-crime seems to be deterring SMEs from expanding their online activities.
She said: "In the last survey we did [we found] that about 20 per cent of businesses were actually deterred from making greater use of online trading because of the fear of online crime and the fear of card fraud."
A report published by Get Safe Online in June 2007 revealed that 44 per cent of small businesses in the UK have been the victim of cyber-crimes such as fraud and data theft.
It also found that, of those businesses affected, 36 per cent had had their PCs infected by a virus and 18 per cent had fallen victim to phishing or hacking.
