Online crime in the US alone caused $67.2bn in damages last year, according to a survey conducted by the FBI.

The findings were based on a poll of 2,066 organisations, nearly 90 per cent of which had experienced a computer security incident over the past 12 months.

Over 64 per cent of the respondents incurred a financial loss as a result of the incident, at an average $24,000 per case.

Viruses (83.7 per cent) and spyware (79.5 per cent) posed the most common problems. Other incidents included port scans and data sabotage.

The attacks caused most respondents to install updates, but only a small number said that they were using dual-factor authentication methods such as biometrics and smart cards.