"This means using least privilege access methods, where the third party has access to the very essentials of their tasks, and nothing more," he says. "This ensures that it will not have access to information which it is not privy to. The third party should also be given access to a separate segment which is independent and removed from the internal network, by using firewall controls."

According to Symantec's Kopelke, trusting a third party with company data is part of doing business today. "Data loss prevention is the key because the alternative remedy is far more costly," he says.

"Figures from the Australian 2011 Cost of a Data Breach survey found that costs relating to the detection of data breaches increased by only five per cent since 2010."

According to Kopelke, this percentage was "unsurprising" given that Australia still lacks regulations requiring companies to notify their customers of a data breach. "It is important that Australia fast tracks the adoption of mandatory data breach notification laws which encourage business to minimise the likelihood of a breach rather than focusing on the aftermath," he says.

Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick