Security news30 January 2007
Korean programmers arrested for sending 1.6 billion spam emails Duo suspected of stealing information from 12,000 internet users
Spammers blast unwanted emails to billions of internet users
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have welcomed the arrests of two men suspected of being involved in one of South Korea's biggest spam incidents.
The men, one aged 20 and the other 26 years old, are alleged to have broken the law by sending out 1.6 billion spam emails between September and December 2006. South Korean authorities in Seoul claim that the duo, both computer programmers, obtained personal and financial information from 12,000 victims which they then sold to other firms.
"South Korea was revealed in Sophos's recent security report as the third-worst nation in the world for relaying spam, and the authorities should be congratulated for cracking down on spammers based in the country," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Spammers are battering inboxes in their attempt to make fast money, sell fake goods, and - in the worst cases - steal identities."
In May 2006, South Korean authorities arrested a man suspected of running a network of zombie computers alleged to have sent 18 million spam messages a day.
"South Korea is admired around the world for its impressive internet infrastructure, but with the widespread adoption of broadband net connections comes the danger of spam, spyware and malware," continued Cluley. "The courts in South Korea need to send a strong message to abusers of the internet that their criminal antics will not be tolerated."
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About Sophos
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.
