Companies developing ebusiness applications should spend more time and money on installing better security measures or risk facing high financial losses, according to analysts at Gartner, speaking at the company's Ebusiness and Internet Conference in Paris this week.

Three out of four current business websites are vulnerable to attack, with the level of internet fraud expected to be more prevalent than credit card fraud by 2003 - a trend which should spur businesses to treat security more strategically and as a source of competitive advantage, said Gartner.

Businesses often view security as an afterthought in the race to offer the latest services and solutions, an approach which is naive given the potential scale of losses through attacks, the company warned.

For ebusiness to be successful, security solutions must be seen as business enablers rather than a limitation or an inhibitor and must be addressed early.

Companies need to understand that the internet business challenge lies in giving customers and business partners appropriate access while blocking fraudulent access and protecting business data, said John Pescatore, vice president and research director at Gartner.

"Criminals will continue to be innovative in finding new ways to commit fraud and security breaches. Enterprises need to match this hunger, innovation and enthusiasm in relation to their own security policies and architectures," he said.

According to Gartner, the early adopters of new security technology and ideas are already gaining advantage over others by matching investment in ebusiness innovation with investment in security measures.