IT contractors may find more job vacancies available in security, as one expert claims the need to protect businesses and public bodies from cyber crime is growing.

As more assets are being put online, internet attacks begin to pose a very serious threat to the wellbeing of the UK economy, according to Martyn Ruks, technical director at MWR InfoSecurity.

His comments follow the release of the government's National Security Strategy, which suggested that cyber crime is as big a threat to the UK as terrorism, as it is cheaper to undertake and not easy to trace back to a source.

Iain Lobban, director of the UK Government Communications Headquarters, recently claimed that it poses a "real and credible" threat to infrastructure.

Mr Ruks concluded: "One of the key things about cyber attacks is the economic wellbeing of the country.

"That's something that is particularly associated with not just normal government but also with commercial entities as well."