Posted by SecExtra on May 03rd, 2010

India has pushed Korea into second place and taken over the mantle of the world’s largest producer of internet viruses, according to analysis of internet threats in April by managed security company Network Box. India now accounts for just under 10 (9.9) per cent of the world’s viruses, ahead of Korea at 8.24 per cent and the US at 6.7 per cent.

India is also becoming a more dominant force in spam production and intrusions: 7.40 per cent of the world’s spam now originates from India; and the country is responsible for 8.6 per cent of intrusions. This is behind the US, which still produces more spam than any other country (11.91 per cent).

It was revealed earlier in the month that computer networks in India were compromised by Chinese hackers using social networking sites to compromise computers in India, and also attack the India High Commission in the UK.

Simon Heron, Internet Security Analyst for Network Box says: “It’s important to remember that malware production is not a static industry. All that is needed is a computer with a connection to the internet and in no time vulnerable computers are compromised, recruited to a botnet and become part of a malware factory. These problems are not confined by borders. Cyber crime is a global problem which nations need to work together to tackle, or continue to fall victim to attacks.”

For more information on security issues, visit Network Box, see Simon Heron’s blog; or follow him on Twitter.