BEIJING — Chinese companies spend more money on cyber security than global average, as they are facing increasing risks online, a PwC survey said Thursday.

The survey showed Chinese companies budgeted 23.5 percent more on cyber security than the global average in 2017, with financial, telecommunication, media and e-commerce sectors seeing robust growth.

Around 83 percent of respondents cited digital transformation as an underlying motivation for increasing cyber security.

"We are seeing that many Chinese enterprises, particularly tech-savvy companies, are increasingly sensitive to potential cyber threats. Consequently, alert companies are taking pre-emptive action to reduce their exposure," said Lisa Li with PwC China.

About 72 percent of Chinese companies surveyed had a security strategy in place on the internet of things, above the global average of 67 percent.

Former employees were regarded as the most likely source of security incidents, cited as a risk by 42 percent of Chinese respondents, higher than the global average of 26 percent.

Domestic companies will have to meet challenges of complying with rigorous laws and regulations, as China's cyber security law took effect in June 2017.

"Facing an increasingly complex security scenario, companies will need to keep adapting to rapidly evolving technology, which simultaneously expands business potential and broadens vulnerability to security incidents," said Samuel Sinn with PwC China.

The annual PwC survey covered over 9,500 business and IT security executives worldwide, including more than 460 from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.