The threat presented by cyber-crime and the actions that should be taken to fight it is being reviewed by European law enforcement agency Europol this week. An 'underground economy' of cyber-criminals are emerging at the same time that businesses, governments and banking systems become increasingly dependant on new technology and data management structures.

The most recent estimate from McAfee for the global corporate financial losses resulting from cyber-crime is around €750billion (£633billion) annually.

"Cyber-crime is borderless by nature – this also makes criminal investigations more complicated for law enforcement authorities. To effectively tackle cybercrime, adequate cross–border provisions are needed," said Rob Wainwright director of Europol.

A system of co-operation must exist between all the EU and other countries with regard to data management and security as well as the law enforcement, he added.

An expert from the Chartered Institute for IT suggested that as IT continues to play a major role in business, companies need to improve data management to protect against losses.

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