IBM plans to give away software to encourage developers to build security into their business applications, and better protect against hackers, identity thieves and malicious users.

The software will allow Java developers to more easily engineer security into the software lifecycle process at the beginning of their design, rather than plugging security holes with patches after the damage is done.

The free technologies are hosted on IBM alphaWorks, the firm's online outlet for emerging technologies. The code will provide increased security for Java applications, and automated encryption of information shared across networks.

Secure Shell Library for Java, based on Secure Socket Shell which automatically encrypts data transmitted from one computer to another, provides automatic data encryption including passwords and information stored in files.

IBM's Security Workbench Development Environment for Java allows developers to configure and validate Java applications that support the Java and OSGi industry security standards.

Available as a set of Eclipse IDE plug-ins, the tool detects and reports violations of security best practice that can often be corrected through the click of a mouse.

"Security has become top-of-mind among corporate software developers, ISVs and academia, as data protection has become a key boardroom issue," said Buell Duncan, general manager for ISV and developer relations at IBM.

"Whether it's the theft of credit card information from a retail website, or the pilfering of private employee data from corporate data sources, all companies are at risk of having their business and reputation impacted by hackers and malicious internal users."

Security continues to be a key issue for organisations today. Nearly 60 per cent of US businesses believe that cyber-crime is more costly to them than physical crime, and the FBI estimates that cyber-crime cost US organisations more than $62bn in 2005.