Google has recently released a report showing SPAM emails have returned to the levels of November 2008 before the blocking of McColo ISP. Spammers have apparently rebuilt their botnets in the last few months and are determined to make 2009 a record year for SPAM, as was every year before it. The Google post reports that SPAM, as a percentage of daily email traffic fell in the last three quarters of 2008 to .8%, .3% and then .1% and has now rebounded to 1.2%, a new record.
Of course, SPAM doesn't just bombard your business with unwanted emails, it may lead to virus installation on your computers where you can unknowingly support a botnet or allow unwanted access to your employee's, customer's or your company's confidential information.
Google has reported that an increase in location-based SPAM where the email is customized for each user with references to a nearby city center. Attackers use the geolocation of the user's IP address and insert bogus news headlines in the email body to entice clicks on an embedded video which then installs the virus.
Also increasing are SPAM emails with attached viruses, called payload viruses. Google reports that in 2008, Sundays were the most activity for payload viruses with spammers hoping to capitalize on unprotected networks as IT administrators installed patches and other updates when traffic levels are usually low. That's changed for 2009 with no “favorite” day for payload viruses and a 9% increase in payload virus traffic In March over February.
This data clearly shows Small and Midsize Business managers and owners that spammers have not given up and are not slowing down. In fact, the creativity, innovation and investment in new vehicles of attack suggest spammers are a serious threat that require a solid plan that can identify and block threats, purge malware should a SPAM attack succeed and protect your data from theft.
{rokintensedebate}
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