IT chiefs in financial services companies are spending an average of six percent of their budgets on security, according to a recent report.

Financial services firms are now investing more to achieve good digital security, according to the results of the 2003 Global Security Survey from professional services organisation Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. On average they are spending six percent of the IT budget on security, while 47 percent had hired extra security staff compared with last year. Only 19 percent of respondents said their firms had reduced the number of IT security staff, despite the slowdown in the economy.

The six percent figure is a positive sign, according to Glyn Geoghegan of security consultancy Corsaire. "In the past a figure of five percent has been stated as appropriate, so it's good to see that the finance industry is above that - although only a little," he said.

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