India tops in originating spam, phishing in Asia: Report

11 May 2010, 1554 hrs IST,IANS

BANGALORE: Hackers have kept pace with India's leap into the internet world, making the country number one in Asia for originating the highest number of spams and phishing, says a study by global security solutions provider Symantec.

"India ranked first in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region and third highest in the world as the originating country of spam and hishing," said the IT major's latest internet security threat report.

India also ranked second for the origin of web-based attacks in the region, contributing 16 percent, after China, which accounted for 37 percent of the total attacks.

Spam is an unsolicited message hackers post on the internet and mail to unknown recipients who would not otherwise choose to receive it.

Phishing is a fraudulent process used by cyber criminals to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details online by posing as a trustworthy entity in the electronic communication.

The report, based on a survey conducted during 2009, found that 21 percent of the spam in the region originated from India, accounting for four percent of the worldwide spam volume.

Spam made up 88 percent of all e-mail in 2009.

More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/internet/India-tops-in-originating-spam-phishing-in-Asia-Report/articleshow/5917291.cms