Levels of malicious spam reach two-year high
By Joe Elvin
17/08/2011
Levels of malicious spam have risen to a two-year high this week, according to a number of IT security labs.
Recently released figures have shown that 24 per cent of spam sent since Monday has contained malicious software. This has been labelled an "epic" amount by security lab, M86 Security.
According to SC Magazine, most of these malicious emails are being sent from the Cutwail botnet. Festi and Asprox were among the other high contributors.
Many of these companies were recycling old spam campaigns such as those aiming to convince users that their credit card had been blocked, package had not been delivered or that a hotel is offering them a rebate. The majority of malicious software was stored in zip files disguised as important information.
This massive increase highlights the importance of protecting computer networks with automated IT management software.
In an interview with v3.co.uk, security researcher Rodel Mendrez attempted to explain the reasoning behind the increased amount of malware being delivered.
He said: "After multiple recent botnet takedowns, cyber criminal groups remain resilient, clearly looking to build their botnets and distribute more fake anti-virus in the process.
"It seems that spammers have returned from a holiday break and are enthusiastically back to work."
