Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against viruses,
spyware and spam, has published its latest report on the top twelve
spam relaying countries over the first quarter of 2006.
Experts at SophosLabs™ scanned all spam
messages received in the company's global network of spam traps,
and have revealed that while the United States has continued to
make good progress in its efforts to reduce spam-relaying
statistics, there is still more spam sent from US computers than
any other nation. However as a continent, North America is now
close to being overtaken by Europe, with both lying behind Asia in
terms of spam relayed.
The top twelve spam relaying countries for January to March 2006
are as follows:
| Position |
Country |
Percentage |
| 1 |
United States |
|
| 2 |
China (incl Hong Kong) |
|
| 3 |
South Korea |
|
| 4 |
France |
|
| 5 |
Poland |
|
| 6 |
Spain |
|
| 7 |
Germany |
|
| 8 |
Brazil |
|
| 9 |
Japan |
|
| 10 |
United Kingdom |
|
| 11 |
Netherlands |
|
| 12 |
Taiwan |
|
| Others |
20.6% |
"Two years ago, the US accounted for over half of all spam sent
to the world - now it is less than a quarter, evidence which
confirms that more Americans are waking up to the need to protect
their home computers from malicious hackers," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "More and more viruses, worms and
Trojan horses are being designed to take over innocent users'
computers with the intention of stealing information and sending
out junk email campaigns."
Helped by legislation such as CAN-SPAM and greater information
sharing by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the US has led the
way in imposing severe penalties and fines for its most prolific
spammers. During the first quarter of 2006, several gang members
responsible for distributing massive quantities of pornography
admitted their involvement in a criminal spam ring. Jennifer
Clason of New Hampshire, Andrew Ellifson of Arizona, and Kirk
Rogers of California were part of a gang that spammed out millions
of emails advertising hardcore adult websites, and are scheduled to
be sentenced in the next few months.
"We're seeing spammers being successfully brought to justice in
the US, but it's important to remember that they can be based
anywhere in the world. In fact, the vast majority of spam is
generated from zombie computers - hijacked PCs infected by
malware," continued Cluley. "A combination of technology, legal
action, user education and international co-operation is needed to
truly make spam a thing of the past."
The reduction in US-relayed spam has had a significant impact on
the rest of the chart, with China now closer than ever to the top.
Poland, Spain and Germany all saw their spam-relaying percentages
rise between Q4 2005, and Q1 2006, while the UK, which was absent
altogether from the Q4 2005 dirty dozen, has now re-entered the
table in tenth position. These changes have helped Europe challenge
North America for second position in the top spam-relaying
continents.
The breakdown of spam relaying by continent for January to March
2006 is as follows:
| Position |
Continent |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Asia |
|
| 2 |
North America |
|
| 3 |
Europe |
|
| 4 |
South America |
|
| 5 |
Australasia |
|
| 6 |
Africa |
|
| Others |
0.1% |
"Europe is in danger of overtaking North America as the second
worst spam-relaying part of the world. This continental shift is
inevitable because as North America's percentage continues to fall,
the rest of the world is witnessing a rise," explained Cluley.
"It's imperative that computer users worldwide put better defences
in place to prevent their computers from being converted into
spam-spewing zombies."
Sophos recommends that computer users ensure they keep their
anti-virus 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 email account usage.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.