Latest 'dirty dozen' spam-relaying nations published
Published: Jan 13, 2011 12:59 AM | Updated: Jan 13, 2011 1:02 AM
IT security and control firm Sophos has published the latest "Dirty Dozen" of spam relaying countries, covering the fourth quarter of 2010.
The United States increased its lead at the top spot, and continues to be responsible for nearly one in five junk emails.
IT security and control firm Sophos has published the latest "Dirty Dozen" of spam relaying countries, covering the fourth quarter of 2010.
The United States increased its lead at the top spot, and continues to be responsible for nearly one in five junk emails - 18.83 percent of all spam messages, according to Sophos in a statement today.
It said the US domination of the list underlined the continuing problem of computers being compromised by hackers in the country, allowing them to be remotely controlled for criminal purposes without the owners' knowledge.
Sophos noted that while the same countries continue to dominate in terms of spam output, the nature of the spam being distributed is becoming more malicious.
Traditional subject matter such as adverts for pharmaceuticals continued to be a concern, with some 36 million Americans reported to purchase drugs from unlicensed online sellers, but more and more messages were spreading malware and were attempting to phish user names, passwords and personal information, Sophos added.
The remaining top 11 spam-relaying countries for October to December 2010 listed by Sophos were India, Brazil, Russia, United Kingdom, France, Italy, South Korea, Germany, Vietnam, Romania and Spain.
Sophos warned that there had also been an increase in more focused, targeted email attacks, known as "spearphishing".
There has been also increase in the number of compromised profiles and unwanted messages spreading across social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Sophos also rated the top spam-relaying continents for October to December 2010 with Europe leading the pack with 32.11 percent, Asia (31.89 percent),
North America (22.38 percent), South America (10.25 percent) and Africa (2.12 percent).
- Bernama
The United States increased its lead at the top spot, and continues to be responsible for nearly one in five junk emails - 18.83 percent of all spam messages, according to Sophos in a statement today.
It said the US domination of the list underlined the continuing problem of computers being compromised by hackers in the country, allowing them to be remotely controlled for criminal purposes without the owners' knowledge.
Sophos noted that while the same countries continue to dominate in terms of spam output, the nature of the spam being distributed is becoming more malicious.
Traditional subject matter such as adverts for pharmaceuticals continued to be a concern, with some 36 million Americans reported to purchase drugs from unlicensed online sellers, but more and more messages were spreading malware and were attempting to phish user names, passwords and personal information, Sophos added.
The remaining top 11 spam-relaying countries for October to December 2010 listed by Sophos were India, Brazil, Russia, United Kingdom, France, Italy, South Korea, Germany, Vietnam, Romania and Spain.
Sophos warned that there had also been an increase in more focused, targeted email attacks, known as "spearphishing".
There has been also increase in the number of compromised profiles and unwanted messages spreading across social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Sophos also rated the top spam-relaying continents for October to December 2010 with Europe leading the pack with 32.11 percent, Asia (31.89 percent),
North America (22.38 percent), South America (10.25 percent) and Africa (2.12 percent).
- Bernama
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