Johannesburg, 27 Jul 2006
Sophos, a world leader in IT security, has published its latest report on the top 12 spam relaying countries over the second quarter of 2006.
Experts at SophosLabs scanned all spam messages received in the company`s global network of spam traps, and have revealed that for the first time in more than two years the US has failed to make inroads into its spam-relaying problem. The US remains stuck at the top of the chart and is the source of 23.2% of the world`s spam. Its closest rivals are China and South Korea, although both of these nations have managed to reduce their statistics since Q1 2006.
The vast majority of this spam is relayed by `zombies`, also known as botnet computers, hijacked by Trojan horses, worms and viruses under the control of hackers.
The top 12 spam relaying countries are as follows:
April to June 2006:
1. United States 23.2%
2. China (and Hong Kong) 20%
3. South Korea 7.5%
4. France 5.2%
5. Spain 4.8%
6. Poland 3.6%
7. Brazil 3.1%
8. Italy 3%
9. Germany 2.5%
10. United Kingdom 1.8%
11. Taiwan 1.7%
12. Japan 1.6%
Others 22%
Of those countries that did not make the top 12, South Africa is currently in 49th position, contributing 0.11% of worldwide spam. Sophos noted that spam is even being relayed from The Vatican and Antarctica.
Since the introduction of the CAN-SPAM legislation in 2004, there has been a regular quarter-on-quarter drop in the proportion of spam coming from the US - until now. "It`s difficult to criticise the US for failing to take action, given the number of arrests and the huge fines for guilty spammers. The likely reality is that these statistics won`t drop unless US home users take action to secure their computers and put a halt to the zombie PC problem," says Brett Myroff, CEO of master Sophos distributor, NetXactics.
Spam relayed by continent
Asia accounts for more spam than any other continent; however, spam relaying in Europe continues to become more prevalent. While in Q1 2006, 25% of the world`s spam was sent out from European countries, the figure has now reached 27.1%. Europe has now overtaken North America in terms of spreading spam.
The breakdown of spam-relaying by continent is as follows:
April to June 2006:
1. Asia 40.2%
2. Europe 27.1%
3. North America 25.7%
4. South America 5.5%
5. Australasia 0.7%
6. Africa 0.7%
Others 0.1%
Russia conspicuously absent from the dirty dozen
Even though Russia does not feature in the dirty dozen of spam relaying countries, Sophos has uncovered evidence that Russian spammers may be controlling vast networks of zombie PCs. Sophos recently discovered a Russian spamming price list, which showed that $500 would purchase e-mail distribution to 11 million Russian e-mail addresses. On top of this, companies could buy distribution to one million addresses in any country they wanted for just $50.
Spammers use images to dodge anti-spam filters
One key development in 2006 so far has been the increase in spam containing embedded images, which has risen sharply from 18.2% in January to 35.9% in June. By using images instead of text, messages are able to avoid detection by some anti-spam filters that rely on the analysis of textual spam content.
Pump-and-dump scams on the rise
Sophos estimates that 15% of all spam e-mails are now pump-and-dump scams, compared to just 0.8% in January 2005. These scams are e-mail campaigns designed to boost the value of a company`s stock in order for spammers to make a quick profit. Many of these spam messages contain images rather than traditional text.
"It`s always a concern to see so many pump-and-dump e-mails, particularly as the people acting on these e-mails aren`t skilled investors. They don`t realise that purchasing the shares won`t reap any rewards and benefits only the spammers while creating a financial rollercoaster for the organisation in question," says Myroff.
Sophos recommends that computer users ensure they keep their security software up-to-date, as well as using a properly configured firewall and installing the latest operating system security patches. Businesses must also look to implement a best practice policy regarding e-mail account usage.
Share