The number of computer-virus attacks reported around the world jumped to 71,402 in the last three months of 2000, up from 7,020 in the same period a year earlier, said Kim Duffy, managing director of US-based online security firm Internet Security Systems. The industry experts were speaking at a conference on internet security organized for media in Singapore. The wealthy, highly modernized Southeast Asian country has been trying to position itself as an electronic-commerce hub for the Asia-Pacific region.

Creating viruses and hacking into companies' computer systems are getting easier for more people, Mr Duffy added. "There was a time you had to be very clever to develop a computer virus or just to intrude. That's not the case any more," he said.

Dozens of new websites offer easy-to-download "tools" for online vandals and thieves, Mr Duffy said.

Hacking and virus attacks are "a disaster waiting to happen" as companies rush to do business online, said Puni Rajah, vice president of consulting for research firm IDC Asia/Pacific.

In the Asia-Pacific region alone, 25 per cent of major companies currently have no virus protection for their computer systems, Ms Rajah said, citing her company's latest research.

"Systems and data are increasingly at risk of being vandalized" by hackers and virus attacks, said Manuel Gonzalez, a software support engineer for Compaq Computer's Internet Security Expertise Center in Belgium. Companies hit by viruses or hackers risk financial loss through the theft of credit card numbers or other codes, Mr Gonzalez said.

He said companies also stand to lose competitive market information and reputation because online vandals derive satisfaction from damaging high-profile targets. "The more prestige your company has, the more likely that you can be the victim of a malicious attack," he said.