The Top 12 Spam Relaying Countries, According to Sophos
Curious to find out which countries around the world top the charts when it comes to relaying spam messages? A top 12 has been put together by Sophos, company that specializes in providing antivirus, anti-spam, spyware removal software, network and internet security, data protection, and computer security solutions. According to Sophos, the countries that relayed the biggest amounts of spam from April until June 2010 are:
1. USA with 15.2% of global spam
2. India with 7.7% of global spam
3. Brazil with 5.5% of global spam
4. UK with 4.6% of global spam
5. South Korea with 4.2% of global spam
6. France with 4.1% of global spam
7. Germany with 4.0% of global spam
8. Italy with 3.5% of global spam
9. Russia with 4.0% of global spam
10. Vietnam with 2.7% of global spam
11. Poland with 2.5% of global spam
12. Romania with 2.3% of global spam
"It's sad to see spam relayed via compromised European computers on the rise - the UK, France, Italy and Poland have all crept up the rankings since the start of the year," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Financially-motivated criminals are controlling compromised zombie computers to not just launch spam campaigns, but also to steal identity and bank account information. It's an uphill struggle educating users about the dangers of clicking on links or attachments in spam mails, and that their computers may already be under the control of cybercriminals. Businesses and computer users must take a more proactive approach to spam filtering and IT security in order to avoid adding to this global problem."
Sophos regularly comes up with these types of tops. Back in April it made public a top 12 that presented the countries that relayed the biggest amounts of spam from January to March 2010. At the time the top 12 loked like this:
1. USA with 13.1% of global spam
2. India with 7.3% of global spam
3. Brazil with 6.8% of global spam
4. South Korea with 4.8% of global spam
5. Vietnam with 3.4% of global spam
6. Germany with 3.2% of global spam
9. United Kingdom, Russia, Italy all tie at 3.1% of global spam
10. France with 3.0% of global spam
11. Romania with 2.5% of global spam
12. Poland with 2.4% of global spam
1. USA with 15.2% of global spam
2. India with 7.7% of global spam
3. Brazil with 5.5% of global spam
4. UK with 4.6% of global spam
5. South Korea with 4.2% of global spam
6. France with 4.1% of global spam
7. Germany with 4.0% of global spam
8. Italy with 3.5% of global spam
9. Russia with 4.0% of global spam
10. Vietnam with 2.7% of global spam
11. Poland with 2.5% of global spam
12. Romania with 2.3% of global spam
"It's sad to see spam relayed via compromised European computers on the rise - the UK, France, Italy and Poland have all crept up the rankings since the start of the year," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Financially-motivated criminals are controlling compromised zombie computers to not just launch spam campaigns, but also to steal identity and bank account information. It's an uphill struggle educating users about the dangers of clicking on links or attachments in spam mails, and that their computers may already be under the control of cybercriminals. Businesses and computer users must take a more proactive approach to spam filtering and IT security in order to avoid adding to this global problem."
Sophos regularly comes up with these types of tops. Back in April it made public a top 12 that presented the countries that relayed the biggest amounts of spam from January to March 2010. At the time the top 12 loked like this:
1. USA with 13.1% of global spam
2. India with 7.3% of global spam
3. Brazil with 6.8% of global spam
4. South Korea with 4.8% of global spam
5. Vietnam with 3.4% of global spam
6. Germany with 3.2% of global spam
9. United Kingdom, Russia, Italy all tie at 3.1% of global spam
10. France with 3.0% of global spam
11. Romania with 2.5% of global spam
12. Poland with 2.4% of global spam
