Staff failing to update technology are putting employers at risk from cyber attacks, new research finds.

With less than a third of British employees updating internet browsers or operating systems, some 71 per cent are now using out-of-date IT systems and putting systems in danger.

Statistics put together by YouGov and virtual data room business Imprima finds that the risk of being cyber attacked now stands at 20 per cent, with average cost for affected businesses reaching £2.21 million.

The survey of British businesses reveals that some 56 per cent of staff do not know which browser version they are using, meaning that systems are often failing to not be upgraded.

Of the 71 per cent who don’t always update, 20 per cent never complete the task, 7 per cent rarely do it and 18 per cent have no idea how many times they have updated.

Torgny Gunnarsson, CEO of Imprima, comments, ‘This survey has uncovered a sobering lack of understanding of security issues inherent in out-of-date software and operating systems throughout Britain.

‘It could be seriously endangering the security of sensitive work documentation and costing the UK economy significant sums of money.’

More on cyber crime:

• What businesses need to know about securing customer details
• What can be learnt from the Domino’s security breach
• Safeguarding against data loss

Imprima suggests that with software firms removing support for older products such as Microsoft’s Windows XP, a large tranche of businesses are using non-current systems. Business security is also being compromised by using ‘vulnerable’ webs browsers such as Internet Explorer.

XP, which had support withdrawn in April, is found to be the second most used operating system for British businesses, behind Windows 7 – another non-current system. Internet Explorer is used by 45 per cent of the survey’s respondents.