UK receives highest proportion of malicious emails
By Joe Elvin
26/05/2011
Email users in the UK receive the highest proportion of malicious messages, according to a new report.
The MessageLabs Intelligence report by Symantec estimated that in one in 91.7 emails sent to British inboxes in May contained dangerous malware or other such viruses.
The poll also revealed that 3,142 websites each day were harbouring malicious programs featuring unwanted adware, spyware or malware.
The statistics highlight the importance of British business investing in strong IT system management software in order to battle against these threats.
A source from symantec.com indicated that spammers were now also using URL-shortening websites to lead users to these malicious websites.
Rather than including links to malware directly in their emails, spammers are sending unknowing users to fake URL-shortening websites, which in turn redirects users into their virus-ridden domain.
Speaking to cbronline.com, Symantec senior analyst Paul Wood expressed his concern at these URL-shortening websites becoming stepping stones to malicious sites.
He said: "With legitimate URL-shortening services attempting to tackle abuse more seriously, spammers seem to be experimenting with ways to establish their own services to better avoid disruption.
"However, as long as new URL-shortening services are being created, we expect spammers to continue abusing them."
The survey stated that the public sector was at the greatest risk of receiving viruses, with one in 28.9 messages having been blocked as malicious.
