Germany Top Country in Harmful Activity, Reports Symantec

Security company Symantec has recently published its EMEA Internet Security Threat Report 2008 for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. According to the report, Germany was the foremost country spewing harmful online activity within the EMEA region during 2008.

The report discloses that Germany was behind 14% of all malicious activities such as hosting of phishing websites and amassing of spam zombies. The country had been holding the same position for the second consecutive year. Symantec also revealed that during 2007, Germany occupied the highest position by generating 18% of all malevolent cyber activity within the EMEA region.

The researchers also state that Germany's rising malicious activity is because of the current recession that has resulted in tailored attacks in view of the fact that many technically skilled people are now unemployed.

Besides this, the report also reveals that while Germany was foremost in bot activity during 2007, in the succeeding year (2008), this type of activity dropped. Since bots mean more profits at relatively low cost, Symantec infers that Germany's lowered bot activity is probably because of a high bot operation in Turkey. The EMEA countries report that bot operation in Turkey increased over twofold from 4% in 2007 to 9% in 2008.

Commenting on harmful code activity as well as Germany leading in it, Vice-President Stephen Trilling of Symantec Security Technology and Response said that while there was continuous growth in malicious code at an unprecedented speed, the Company had found a new development. This development pertained to attackers replacing the bulk dissemination of a small number of threats with the micro dissemination of a huge number of unique threats, as reported by YAHOO on April 14, 2009.

Hence, this points to the advanced ways in which cyber criminals in Germany and neighboring countries are working, Marc Fossi, Executive Editor, Symantec Internet Security Threat Report XIV, recommends that computer-users need to maintain additional vigilance regarding their security procedures, as reported by YAHOO on April 14, 2009.

Symantec's report also indicates that Holland is somewhat a safer nation than other countries nearby, as it was the ninth country among the ten most malicious activity-generating nations within the EMEA region during 2008.

Related article: Germany Restricts Anti-Hacking Legalization

» SPAMfighter News - 4/22/2009