The European Union's online security body has called for laws requiring firms to inform customers about data security breaches.

Companies should be under obligation to reveal breaches of their computer systems, it has been claimed.

The European Network and Information Security Agency (Enisa) called for changes to existing regulations in its 2007 general report.

Andrea Pirotti, executive director of Enisa, stated Europe needed to take security threats more seriously and invest more resources in network and information security.

"Member states should undertake concerted efforts to reduce the imbalances in security levels, with more cross-border co-operation, he added.

He called for greater funding for his agency, which currently has a budget of 8 million euros.

The 2007 Global Financial Services Security Survey conducted by the international consultancy firm Deloitte revealed 65 per cent of finance firms worldwide have had their systems compromised in the last year.

Some 30 per cent of institutions experienced repeated internal breaches of IT security during, suggesting both employees and external hackers are to blame.

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