Companies using online services to promote retail customer loyalty need to collaborate more with security firms to ensure their users are protected.
Rik Ferguson, director of security, research and communications EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) at Trend Micro, said that some businesses are incorporating security processes themselves, while others do not bother.
"We want to see partnerships with people like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, whoever, so they can try to [prevent] things like the posting of malicious links or anything that's going to compromise the security of their users. That's one side of the argument – it's happening and it definitely needs to happen more," he explained.
However, he added that it is also up to the producers of security software to ensure they stay ahead of threats in order to build protection for social networks and online retailers.
Mr Ferguson said that, in order to be effective, adequate security must be a priority for both providers and consumer and enterprise offerings.
His comments follow findings from the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) which revealed that the higher rates of cyber crime globally are having an impact on small companies.
Posted by Rachel Wheeler