Malware is seen as the greatest threat by executives at small and medium sized businesses in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a survey published this week.

Almost 40 per cent of the 5,770 respondents to a survey carried out by research firm IDC said that they were 'concerned' about viruses.

The analyst firm defines 'virus' as malicious semi-autonomous software, including viruses, Trojans, aggressive spyware and other malware.

Other perceived dangers include hackers attempting to break into company networks, corruption or copying of data, denial of service attacks, and employee sabotage of IT assets, researchers from IDC found.

Company executives are also concerned by the possibility of accidental data loss.

Only 3.8 per cent rated 'shutdown of e-business' as a concern, indicating the relatively low penetration of e-commerce in Asia-Pacific small and medium business operations.

"[The] main challenges faced by Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) small and medium businesses in their adoption of wireless technologies and networking infrastructure include budget constraints, keeping up with the number and sophistication of virus attacks, lack of skilled staff, and keeping the technologies and network environment updated," said Walter Lee, a vice president at IDC.

"Service providers can address these concerns with cost-effective, easy-to-manage solutions focusing on low total cost of ownership and platform integration."

IDC found that 46 per cent of executives at medium sized firms expect the amount they spent on IT services to rise this year.

However, small businesses are considerably less likely to raise spending; fewer than 30 per cent indicated that they plan to raise their IT service budget.