IT contractors should be using their smart phones as part of a two-factor authorisation process for business security, it has been claimed.

Most companies are now using smartphones and they can actually afford the user more security than they would get on a regular desktop PC, according to Panda Security.

Controlling which applications can be accessed or installed - as well as preventing malware from accessing them - is quite difficult at the moment with PCs, yet it remains fairly simple with smartphones, claims security expert and senior project manager for Panda Security Sebastian Zabala.

"I would say that you should use smartphones as a step in authentication but not solely rely on the phone as one application, you should have two-factor authentication, where the phone is one part of that," he explained.

The Mobile Phone Security Industry Association is now advising firms to incorporate smartphones into their security policies, as there are 4.4 billion of them in circulation around the world.