Spam Levels Continue to Surge

Security experts say spam levels have continued to surge in the first few months of 2010.  Spam levels in February rose

Compromised computers spew spam.

to 89.4%, a nearly 6% increase from January.  The rise is blamed on the Rustock and Grum botnets in particular with Grum’s spam output increasing by over 50%. It’s currently responsible for 26% of all spam sent.

Porn was the most popular delivery method with 63.6% of spam messages using this tactic. Phishing has seen a slight decline with claiming 1% of all threats detected. A whopping 84% was malware and 15% was spyware. Cutwail continues to pump out record setting amounts of spam that push scareware such as fake anti-virus programs. These types of campaigns remain wildly popular with cybercriminals because of their high profitability. Experts say Cutwail is also for hire. The botnet’s controllers are apparently offering it up for rent to other cybercriminals, further increasing their profits. The specific services being offered for sale aren’t known but are likely to be spam, malware delivery, DDoS attacks and other criminal activities.

The cybercriminals that run the major botnets have largely turned away from attachment spam, most likely because most ISPs and spam filters automatically block or filter them. Only about .56% of spam contains attachments now. Instead they rely on links because malicious URLs tend to pass easily through spam filters without detection. Use of URL shortening services is also still popular.

What is the best way to fight these surging threats? Security experts recommend a multilayered shield comprised of URL filtering, a strong, constantly updated anti-virus solution, and real-time code analysis.