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Tuesday, December 9, 2008
U.S. ranks first among web spam sources, Sophos reports
By Mass High Tech Staff
MHT Editor Doug Banks on NECN: How companies are using social media
Security software maker Sophos Plc. has released its annual Security Threat Report, which found the U.S. to be the host of more spam and malware than any other country in 2008.
The report reviews the past year’s “cybercrime trends” and those expected for 2009.
For 2008, the U.S. claimed the top spot for hosting 37 percent of all web-based malware, replacing 2007 malware host champion and this year’s number two spot, China, with 27 percent of malware hosting.
The U.S. also sent out 17.5 percent of all web spam, the most for any country in 2008.
Sophos officials said it saw a five-time increase from the beginning of 2008 in spam with file attachments aimed at identity theft. The company also said it found an average of “five new scareware websites every day,” which targets users with anti-virus posing websites.
The latest spamming target has been social networking sites like Facebook, which last week got slammed by the “Koobface” virus. The virus purports to have compromising video of the recipient. When the video is opened and the Flash plug-in is downloaded, the virus replicates by contacting everyone on the victim’s Facebook friend list and advancing the hoax.
Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said in a press release that 2009 should continue to bring a high level of Internet assaults.
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