GSi eZine: an email newsletter from OGCbuying.solutions

Return to front cover

MessageLabs Intelligence Report: Criminal Gang Debuts Spam and Virus Combined in One New Email Threat

By OGCbuying.solutions

MessageLabs Intelligence provides data and analysis for messaging security issues, trends and statistics. MessageLabs offers a range of information on global security threats based on live data feeds from their control towers around the world scanning billions of messages each week.

The April MessageLabs Intelligence report exposes a new level in the convergence between spam and viruses through intercepted cyber-criminal activity, whilst highlighting the increase in spam levels and the emergence of new techniques which have led to decreased rates in traditional virus and phishing threats.

In what could be a defining moment within the threat landscape, MessageLabs has intercepted emails that are both spam and contain a virus. While the cyber-criminals have long used email viruses to create botnets to send spam, this is the first time MessageLabs has seen viruses hidden within stock scam spam. Since April 14, MessageLabs has stopped thousands of these emails as part the latest phase in Storm Worm activity.

Over 422,000 email users are protected on the Government Secure Intranet from email viruses and over 264,000 of email users are protected from spam. To find out more information and greater detail on the latest trends and figures, as well as more detailed geographical and vertical trends download the April 2007 MessageLabs Intelligence Report at www.messagelabs.com/Threat_Watch or go to the MessageLabs ClientNet portal.

Back to top

© OGCbuying.solutions 2007

Printable version

Rate this article

This article has been rated by 1 users, with an average of 1.0.

In this edition