If firms do not do more to tackle issues of IT security, harsh regulations may be imposed that could raise their costs and damage business, experts warned at the recent Global Forum on Information Systems and Network Security in Norway.

Speaking from the event, which was hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Jeremy Ward, director of services development at security provider Symantec, said that many firms are not properly addressing the issues. "Security vendors are pursuing the agenda," he said. "But companies outside the security and technology sectors should be taking responsibility for security, and looking at where their responsibility begins and ends."

If the present situation continues, governments may force more regulations upon industry, Ward predicted. "You could make a case that the government should step in with information security practices for firms [where poor security would affect] people outside of the individual company," he said.

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