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A significant proportion of computers being used by companies in the UK are not properly protected against security threats, according to a new study.

Research from Sophos has found that two-third of corporate machines may not be secure as a result of falling behind on security patches, virus updates and non-functional firewalls, IT Pro reports.

“It’s a lot to do with how difficult it is for IT managers to keep control of what end users are doing with their computers,” John Shaw from Sophos told the website.

“You might send out computers to users in a good and healthy state but it’s hard to do anything once it’s in the user’s hands.”

He added that network access control could help improve security by allowing firms to take preventative action.

A recent study from AEP Networks found that 91 per cent of IT chiefs in the UK and the US felt remote working increased security risks to company data.

Security software company Sophos has revealed that the US relays more spam than any other country in the world.

Websites in the US are responsible for 28.4 per cent of all spam, followed by South Korea with 5.2 per cent and China, including Hong Kong, with 4.9 per cent.

Russia, Brazil and France are the fourth, fifth and sixth worst respectively for relaying spam, the Sophos report revealed.

Carole Theriault, senior security consultant at Sophos, said: ‘It seems as though a major American spammer is arrested every other week at the moment, but despite these high-profile lawbreakers being put away, the US continues to relay far more spam than any other nation on the planet.’

The spamming is not just the work of a few cyber criminals, but represents thousands of people controlling thousands of zombie computers, added Ms Theriault.

Recently, a security report from the Georgia Tech Information Security Centre warned that online videos are the new favoured way for cyber criminals to hide malicious code.