12.3% of internet malware blocked in September 'was new'

2009-09-30

Over one tenth (12.3 per cent) of all web-based malware blocked was new in September, according to the most recent Symantec's MessageLabs Intelligence monthly report.

This accounted for an increase of 0.4 per cent since August but there was positive news to be taken from the report.

It found that one in 399.2 emails in September contained malware, a drop of 0.09 per cent since August. On top of this, one in 437.1 emails comprised a phishing attack, a fall of 0.11 per cent since last month.

However, other findings from the research showed that Botnets are now responsible for distributing 87.9 per cent of all spam, a rise of 2.9 per cent since the second quarter of this year.

According to MessageLabs, Rustock now seems to be the largest botnet, with an estimated 1.3 million to 1.9 million compromised computers in its control.

PandaLabs recently announced it had seen a global 15 per cent rise in the overall number of malware-infected computers in September compared to August.

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