Monday, January 4, 2010

Phishing Attacks Soar in December



Phishers represent over 57% of all web-based threats in December....





Network Box stats show over half of all web-based threats in December were phishing attacks





According to information posted on their website:

The number of phishing attacks rose dramatically in the run up to Christmas, according to managed security firm, Network Box. Analysis of internet threats in December 2009 show that just over 57 per cent of all threats were phishing attacks, compared to 28.3 per cent in November.



The greatest source of viruses and spam was Brazil, from where 20.9 per cent of all viruses and 9.1 per cent of all spam originated in December. This is up from 14 per cent and eight per cent respectively in November.



India is continuing to play a more significant role in the world’s threat landscape, with 6.8 per cent of all spam coming from the sub-continent (up from 4.2 per cent in November); and 4.1 per cent of viruses (static from November).



Simon Heron, Internet Security Analyst for Network Box says: "The run up to Christmas is traditionally a time for hackers to strike the vulnerable. A higher proportion of shopping is done online, with more money spent than at any other time of year. Christmas offers rich pickings for phishers. This is likely to continue through the sales in January, and we urge online bargain hunters to be vigilant."



Top Ten Sources of Viruses













Country

Daily Average %

Brazil

20.90490

US

7.82734

Korea

5.39005

India

4.18913

China

3.47509

Argentina

3.13935

UK

2.61957

Russia

2.57538

Poland

2.57143

Italy

2.19215



Top Ten Sources of Spam














Country

Daily Average %

Brazil

9.14405

US

8.77934

India

6.81418

Vietnam

6.49426

Korea

5.85177

China

5.48322

Russia

3.87158

Colombia

2.59535

Ukraine

2.54101

Romania

2.22399





Top Ten Sources of Intrusions














Country

Daily Average %

Australia

22.34705

Korea

11.77134

US

8.99701

Hong Kong

8.85511

China

4.96804

Malaysia

4.38734

India

4.20848

Brazil

4.13375

Vietnam

3.66222

Ukraine

2.19536



For more information on security issues, see www.network-box.co.uk, or visit Simon Heron’s blog at: http://blog.network-box.co.uk/, or follow Simon on Twitter: http://twitter.com/networkbox.



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