Sophos Announces Q209 'Dirty Dozen' Spam Report

PRESS RELEASE

July 20, 2009 " IT security and data protection firm Sophos has published its report on the latest trends in spam, revealing the top twelve spam-relaying countries for the second quarter of 2009. By scanning all spam messages caught in SophosLabs' global network of spam traps, researchers have identified the top 'Dirty Dozen' spam relaying nations between April and June this year.

During the second quarter of 2009, the USA continued to relay more spam than any other country " the nation's 15.6 percent contribution to global spam traffic meaning that more than one in six junk emails were sent through compromised computers in the country. In contrast, Russia, a former spam super-power, continues to fall down the ranks.

Russia currently resides at ninth position in the chart, relaying a mere 3.2 percent of spam messages. This represents a significant reduction compared to the same time last year when the country came second only to the United States and was responsible for relaying 7.5 percent of all spam emails.

Poland has seen the biggest single increase in spam output since the last quarter, moving up from tenth to sixth place in this global 'hall of shame', with the country now responsible for relaying 4.2 percent of all the world's electronic junk messages. Colombia is the only nation to have left the 'Dirty Dozen' since Q1 2009, with Vietnam a new entry this quarter.

The top twelve countries responsible for relaying spam across the globe between April and June 2009 are as follows: