Number of threats from the UK rising

The number of Internet threats coming from the UK has increased in May, according to Network Box. The UK is now responsible for nearly six (5.9) per cent of the world’s internet viruses, up from three per cent in April.

The only countries that produce more viruses than the UK are Korea (16.26 per cent) and the US (11.68 per cent).

The US and India continue to dominate the production of the world’s spam, with the US producing 10.7 per cent, and India 7.1 per cent (similar figures from last month).

Russia has seen a decline in viruses produced from within its borders – possibly an early result of Russian hosting service, PROXIEZ-NET – notoriously used by criminal gangs – being taken down earlier this month.

Simon Heron, internet security analyst for Network Box, says: “PROXIEX-NET had advertised itself as being impossible to shut down. But, like the McColo shutdown in November 2008, it is always possible to shut down these hubs of criminal activity. The result is that it makes it harder for criminals to find a place to host their servers.

“However, it does not mean that cyber crooks won’t be back up and running in fairly swift order. We saw a dramatic fall in spam as a result of the McColo shutdown, but levels returned to pre-shutdown highs the following month.”