ACADEMICS from the North-East are helping companies tackle the problem of computer hacking and viruses, which affects almost half of all UK businesses every year.

The European Telecommunications Resilience and Recovery Association (ETRA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northumbria University, will help firms protect themselves against the hackers.

According to research, 44 per cent of UK companies have suffered at least one security breach in the past year, with a fifth of these companies taking more than a week to recover.

The ETRA hopes to become one of the UK's largest reporting points for security attacks, known as Warps (Warning Advice and Reporting Points).

Diane Howorth, ETRA business development manager, said: "The problem is widespread. Often not much is heard of security breaches because companies are reluctant to admit they've been hacked in to as this has implications for the brand.

"Research has shown that 70 per cent of companies who lose their data are out of business within two years."

She said the region's economy was particularly vulnerable because of its dependence upon the small business community.

The first ETRA Warp is aimed at local government and will encourage members to share information so that members of the same community can be prepared against electronic attack.

ETRA plans to raise awareness through study tours as well as a conference, workshops and seminars.

Tracey Pitt, chief executive of ETRA, said: "The level of organisational dependency on telecommunications has increased greatly since the turn of the century. This further threatens telecommunication infrastructure resilience and increases organisation recovery time if the worst happens."