Singapore - Fear of a virus attack and data loss are prompting firms in the Asia-Pacific region to adopt disaster recovery plans, a survey said on Monday.

Conducted by Symantec Corporation, the survey shows that 42 per cent of the firms queried worry about a virus attack and 41 per cent fear data loss.

Natural disasters emerged as the next biggest headache spurring disaster recovery investment at 31 per cent, followed by accidental or malicious employee behaviour at 
30 per cent.

The survey included more than 1,000 IT professionals globally. Nearly 30 per cent of the respondents were from the Asia-Pacific region, including India, Malaysia and Singapore.

Asian businesses are still not carrying out tests often enough to improve disaster recovery plans. Fifty-two per cent of the firms carry out tests once a year or less, the survey said. (dpa)