Sophos has published its latest report on the top twelve spam-relaying countries over the second quarter of 2007.

SophosLabs scanned all spam messages received in the company's global network of spam traps, and have revealed that the US continues to relay more spam than any other nation, accounting for 19.6 per cent - a decrease of just 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter. However, Europe now has six entries in the dirty dozen, which when combined, account for even more spam-relaying than the US.

Sophos notes that the number of compromised PCs continues to rise steadily in Europe. An image showing the continent's zombie computers that relayed spam during a 30-minute period is available from the URL below.

According to Sophos, the overall global volume of spam rose by around 9 per cent during Q2 2007, when compared to the same period in 2006.

The top twelve spam-relaying countries are as follows:

1. United States - 19.6 per cent
   
2. China (including Hong Kong) - 8.4 per cent
   
3. South Korea - 6.5 per cent
   
4. Poland - 4.8 per cent
   
5. Germany - 4.2 per cent
   
6. Brazil - 4.1 per cent
   
7. France - 3.3 per cent
   
8. Russia - 3.1 per cent
   
9. Turkey - 2.9 per cent
   
10. United Kingdom - 2.8 per cent
    
11. Italy - 2.8 per cent
    
12. India - 2.5 per cent

Other - 35.0 per cent

According to Sophos, the growing number of PCs across the US and Europe, combined with an increase in the amount of internet service providers offering cheap internet access - not all of which have taken adequate steps to prevent spam-relaying activity - are responsible for the strong Euro-American presence in the dirty dozen.

While there have been minor shifts in individual nations' chart positions, the biggest single change occurs in the 'other' section, which has risen from 30.6 per cent in Q1 2007 to 35.0 per cent in Q2. This suggests that on an individual level, more nations are now responsible for contributing to the problem of spam-relaying. Additionally, having disappeared from the chart in Q1, the United Kingdom has re-entered the dirty dozen in tenth place, responsible for relaying 2.8 per cent of the world's spam.

Related links: (Open in a new window.)
www.sophos.com/news/2007/07/dirtydozjul07.html

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