Businesses should pay no attention to a survey from the Computer Security Institute (CSI) claiming that cyber-crime damage is on the decline, analyst firm Gartner has warned. 

The CSI is a professional organisation for information, computer and network security professionals.

Its study carries weight because it is conducted with the FBI. The 2006 survey polled 615 CSI members about security incidents, reporting that the average loss is $168,000 per incident, down from last year's $204,000.

The results prompted the CSI to claim that the extent of today's security threats is "overstated".

However, Gartner warned that surveys often do not portray objective reality. The analyst firm also questioned the organisation's decision to poll security specialists.

"Security administrators who want more funding tend to exaggerate problems, while those who want to show they are doing a good job may de-emphasise them. Security vendors complicate matters further by developing their own sets of statistics," Gartner research vice president Rich Mogull wrote in a research note. 

The study also lacks a consistent loss model that properly reflects changes in the online security space, according to Gartner.

Damage from worm attacks, for instance, is down, but the study failed to take into account the increase in data theft.