2010-12-01
Abstract
Spam levels at lowest since 2008.
Copyright © 2010 Virus Bulletin
In 2008 we complained bitterly about the amount of spam clogging up our inboxes – today, however, there is reason to be cheerful about receiving the same amount. Researchers claim that, in the third quarter of 2010, spam volumes fell to their lowest level since 2008.
It is believed that the decrease is due in large part to the takedown of several botnets, and researchers suggest that cybercriminals may be turning to SEO poisoning, phishing attacks and malware in preference to spam – possibly because these methods are more profitable.
Meanwhile, a man suspected to be the mastermind of the Mega-D botnet – which at one point accounted for nearly a third of all of the spam on the Internet – has appeared in court in Milwaukee. The FBI alleges that 23-year-old Russian Oleg Nikolaenko was responsible for controlling the botnet which, at its most active, was churning out 10 billion spam messages per day.
The Mega-D botnet was partially taken down in 2009 in an operation by security firm FireEye, and its activity had been notably reduced in recent months. Nikolaenko, who was arrested in November, was charged with running a global network of more than 500,000 virus-infected PCs. He pleaded not guilty and was denied bail, being deemed by the judge to be a flight risk.
