The United States during the fourth quarter of 2005 was the largest source of Internet spam, relaying 24.5% of the world’s unsolicted e-mail, according to Internet security firm Sophos.
The U.S. was just ahead of China— which includes Hong Kong—which was responsible for 22.3% of the world’s spam, Lynnfield, MA-based Sophos reported yesterday.
And while the U.S. and China accounted for almost half the world’s bulk, unsolicted e-mail, South Korea came in at No. 3, accounting for 9.7% of spam on the Internet, Sophos reported.
Sophos’s picks for the world’s top two sources of spam are consistent with a similar list published on an ongoing basis on anti-spam Web site Spamhaus.org. However, the two lists differ substantially starting with No. 3
Spamhaus claims that Russia is the third largest source of spam and that South Korea is No. 4.
Russia does not appear on Sophos’s list.
Also, France claims the No. 4 spot on Sophos’s list, reportedly accounting for 5% of spam worldwide, and does not appear on Spamhaus’s list.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos, said he didn’t know enough about Spamhaus’s methods to explain the difference between the two lists.
“We’re looking at where the computers are based,” he said. Spamhaus lists no contact information.
Other top sources of spam on Sophos’s list that aren’t on Spamhaus’s are Spain, Taiwan, Austria, Poland and Germany.
Besides Russia, top sources of spam on the Spamhaus list that don’t appear on Sophos list are the United Kingdom, Germany and Argentina.
