Many Australians would prefer that they lose their wallet rather than their phones.

This was found out from a survey recently conducted by MSI International which stated that, because smartphones are relatively expensive and contains important data, 82% of the respondents felt it would be much worse to lose their phones.

The survey also revealed that while many Australian consumers feel that protecting their digital assets - such as smartphones, netbooks, tablets and PCs - is very important, they have remained lax with its security.

The respondents cited cost as the reason why they are not buying security software. They however agree that any amount spent on securing their devices was money well spent.

The respondents, comprising of 221 Australians aged 18 to 74, put the average value of their digital assets at $21,000.

It was also found out from the survey that 64 percent of the respondents own three digital devices in their household, while 27 percent owned at least five devices. 42 percent said they spend more than 20 hours weekly using their devices.