IT contractors have another tool available to help firms defend themselves against cyber attacks, according to a leading IT security software vendor.

Google have launched skipfish, an open source web security application which allows site administrators to protect their websites.

Skipfish has been designed to be easy to use and able to adapt to different website landscapes, the makers claim.

Crucially, according to Ram Herkanaidu, a security researcher for Kaspersky Labs, open sourcing it will allow other IT developers to take the basic structure and tailor it to their own needs.

"As a leading player on the internet, it is in [Google's] interest to encourage developers to build securely," said Mr Herkanaidu.

He went on to say that, since operating systems have become harder to crack, web applications would continue to bear the brunt of cyber attacks.

According to analysts Deloitte, cybercriminals are innovating at a pace which many target organisations and security vendors cannot possibly hope to match.