IT contractors may be required to help firms solve their information security problems relating to mobile devices.

The latest report from information technology firm Cisco finds that for a quarter of firms, one in four of their employees have lost their mobile device or had it stolen in the first 12 months of it being issued.

In addition, the survey showed that 58 per cent of employees have allowed a friend to use their company mobile handset unsupervised.

Mobile handsets are causing a big security headache for many businesses, according to Andy Wright, sales director at nonstopIT.

As well as threats to corporate data from lost or stolen handset, Mr Wright explains that poorly-protected handsets are also concerning businesses.

"You've also got a lot of people bringing their own devices into the office, which are putting viruses on to the system, which is a big issue at the moment," he said.