A SURVEY of senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses in the North of England showed nearly 60 per cent had not considered insuring themselves against Internet-related hazards such as viruses, hackers and information misuse.

The research, for insurance specialists Clickforcover.com, also suggested that relatively few firms of that size in the region had taken the first steps towards protecting their computer systems adequately.

Three-quarters said that some systems - but not all - had virus protection software installed.