Three out of four European organisations are outsourcing part of their security function because they face increasing risk, regulatory and cost pressures, as well as staffing problems, according to Symantec research released today.

The security giant interviewed around 500 mid-sized to large enterprises, and found that 95 per cent had experienced attacks in the past two years, and three quarters rated such attacks as their number one or number two risk.

Symantec also identified growing losses from this type of crime, whether through downtime, loss of customer or corporate data, or damage to brand. Around 60 per cent of respondents said that it was becoming 'somewhat' or 'significantly more' difficult to provide security.

Jim Hart, manager of security analysis for Symantec's managed security services division, explained that organisations are also struggling to recruit the best staff.

"Budgets are being constrained and firms are struggling to recruit the top performers," he said. "Things like training are also being affected and because security certifications are often time-dependent, a lot of people are finding their certifications are expiring and they can't replace them."

As a result, 77 per cent of companies in the survey said they were outsourcing some of their security functions in order to cut costs, mitigate increasingly complex risks or have 24/7 access to fully trained staff.