Businesses and other organisations were paying dearly because they did not bother with basic security to protect their on-line dealings, a conference was told today.

The AusCERT Asia-Pacific IT Security Conference on the Gold Coast was told most breaches of computer systems occurred because security was practically non-existent.

AusCERT general manager Graham Ingram told the conference a survey on computer crime had shown most organisations were finding it difficult to manage a multitude of issues concerning the proper protection of their information systems.

"The fact that greater numbers are reporting harmful externally-sourced attacks and fewer are reporting internally-sourced attacks simply means that with increased connectivity and exposure to the internet, the opportunities for external attacks are occurring at a faster rate," Mr Ingram said.

He said organisations needed to ensure they were able to operate their information systems securely before connecting to the internet.

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