"Even in light of this overall increase in IT investment, businesses do not seem to be spending adequately on security," he said. "It is incumbent on business and government to ensure secure solutions and services."

There were 280 respondents to the statewide survey.

Regional areas hit hardest by skills shortage

Tweed Shire Council acting CIO John Bruggy agreed with the survey results, saying the skills shortage in local government, and the shire in particular, is acute.

"We have a real problem in recruiting skilled staff and a greater problem retaining them," Bruggy said, adding that much of the difficulty is money-related as neighboring councils can offer "considerably more".