50% increase in phishing attacks in march with America remain the largest source of malicious code.
Phishing attacks have soared in the last month and now account for nearly half of all malware, according to threat statistics analysed by managed security company, Network Box. In March, phishing attacks registered a score of 48 per cent – more than double the figure recorded in February.
The US has scooped the unwanted accolade of the greatest source of spam and viruses for the third consecutive month. In March the country was responsible for 13 per cent of all junk emails, double the amount sent from second-placed Russia. Seventeen per cent of all viruses were also released from the US, twice the amount than were sent from Korea, its closest rival.
Korea has the beating of the US when it comes to sources of intrusions, however. In March, 16 per cent of all intrusions originated from Korea, while 11 per cent are attributable to the US. Nyxem.e was the most prevalent virus for the second month running; while diehard.ev topped the Trojan chart. Simon Heron, Internet Analyst, Network Box, says: ““It’s hard to believe after all this time that phishing remains such a threat, but the statistics prove that blackhats are still duping a lot of people with these attacks. The interesting thing is that while many phishing attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated, blackhats are still enjoying considerable success sending out ‘traditional’ phishing attacks.”
Top Sources of Viruses:
1 USA 17 % 2 Koreas 8% 3 Hong Kong 8 % 4 China 4 % 5 Spain 4 %
Top Sources of Spam:
1 USA 13 % 2 Russia 7 % 3 Turkey 7 % 4 China 6 % 5 Poland 4 %
Top Sources of Intrusion:
1 Koreas 16 % 2 USA 11 % 3 Malaysia 10 % 4 Hong Kong 10 % 5 China 7 %
