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 Post subject: IT News: U.S. Tops Spammers List
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:43 am 
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But legal and legislative measures to stop unsolicited email seem to be having impact.

Despite legislative and legal pressure, the United States remains the world’s worst offender when it comes to the origin of spam, though South Korea and China are fast catching up, a software security company said Wednesday.

To identify the top 12 countries where span originates, London-based enterprise security software company Sophos looked at spam messages received in its network of spam traps.

The U.S. was responsible for 26.5 percent of the all spam trapped in Sophos’ networks between April and September 2005.

Still, there is some good news: this is significantly lower than the 41.5 percent chalked up during the same period last year.

South Korea ranked No. 2 on the list with a share of 19.73 percent of all spam. Meanwhile, China ranked No. 3 with 15.7 percent. But the Middle Kingdom nearly doubled its share in the spamming market.

U.S. Fighting Spam

Though the U.S. was on top of the spammers list, the percentage of spam from the country has declined because of tighter legislation, jail sentences for spammers, and better security systems, said Sophos.

"Efforts such as ISPs [Internet Service Providers] sharing knowledge on how to crack down on spammers, and authorities enforcing CAN-SPAM legislation have helped North America thwart the efforts of spammers on their doorsteps,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. “Some of the most prolific spammers have been forced to either quit the business or relocate overseas as a result."

An example of the legal crackdown against spammers came Tuesday, when a judge ordered Boston area spammers to permanently shut down dozens of illegal web sites. The judge also ordered the spammers to pay $37 million in civil penalties.

The spammers had been sued by Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly in May for transmitting email messages that peddled unapproved counterfeit drugs, pirated software, and pornography.

Mr. Reilly had filed the suit against Leo Kuvayev and six other individuals with Massachusetts ties, Mr. Reilly’s office said in a statement. Mr. Kuvayev, the alleged ringleader of the spammer gang, had listed a Newton, Massachusetts, address as his residence, and he and his associates used a Boston post office box address for their business operations.

Mr. Kuvayev never responded to the suit so a superior court judge entered a default judgment, according to news reports.

Antidote to Spam

The spammers were found guilty of violating the federal CAN-SPAM Act. The act does not ban spam, but requires unsolicited commercial email be accurate and honest, and that consumers be able to stop receiving the same spam over and over.

The Boston court’s action against spammers is unlikely to halt the rapid transmission of spam, said Susan Larson, vice president of global threat analysis and research for SurfControl, a Scotts Valley, California-based enterprise security company.

“If we can get some of the major spammers, it’s a good thing,” she said. “But so far, few are caught and the return on investment is so huge that I think it’s very difficult to control spam legally right now.”

Better technology and improved security, said Ms. Larson, will be the only antidote to spam.

The legal crackdown against spam may also have had its fallout. Spammers are making virus writers and hackers their partners in crime as a result of international awareness and country-specific legislation against spam, said Sophos.

“By taking control of unprotected PCs, hackers can relay spam, launch denial-of-service attacks, or steal user information, without computer owners being any the wiser,” said Mr. Cluley.

More than 60 percent of spam today is generated from zombie computers, or hijacked computers that have been infected by malware, said Sophos.

“We’ve had such an unlimited host mechanism suddenly come online because of the small business world,” said SurfControl’s Ms. Larson. “The zombie PC network is huge and there are a lot of servers coming online that are vulnerable to hijackers.”


Sophos’ “Dirty Dozen” Spamming Countries:

Country / April-Sept 2005 (%) / April-Sept 2004 (%)

United States / 26.35 / 41.50

South Korea / 19.73 / 11.63

China (incl. Hong Kong) / 15.70 / 8.90

France / 3.46 / 1.27

Brazil / 2.67 / 3.91

Canada / 2.53 / 7.06

Taiwan / 2.22 / 0.86

Spain / 2.21 / 1.04

Japan / 2.02 / 2.66

United Kingdom / 1.55 / 1.07

Pakistan / 1.42 / New Entry

Germany / 1.26 / 1.02

Others / 18.88 / 18.10

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