McAfee, Inc. Quarterly Threat Report Reveals 12 Million New IP Addresses Have Been Hijacked by Botnets

Spam Levels Rise Despite the Takedown of the Infamous Spam Hosting ISP McColo

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today the McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE) first quarter threat report revealed that cybercriminals have taken control of almost 12 million new IP addresses since January, a 50 percent increase since 2008. The United States is now home to the largest percentage of botnet-infected computers, hosting 18 percent of all zombie machines. Cybercriminals are building an army of infected, “zombie” computers to recover from last November’s takedown of a central spam-hosting ISP, according to the new report from Avert Labs.

Temporary Relief from Spam Coming to an End

The November 2008 takedown of McColo Corp. dropped spam levels by an estimated 60 percent, but spam quantities are rising as cybercriminals create new ways to send bulk e-mails. The quick expansion of botnets threatens to boost spam levels back up. In fact, spam volumes have already recovered about 70 percent since McColo Corp. went offline. Compared with the same quarter a year ago, spam volumes are 20 percent lower in 2009 and 30 percent below the third quarter of 2008, which had the highest quarterly volumes recorded to date.

Other Key Findings

“The massive expansion of these botnets provides cybercriminals with the infrastructure they need to flood the Web with malware,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee¼ Avert¼ Labs. “Essentially, this is cybercrime enablement.”

* The Koobface virus has made a resurgence, and more than 800 new variants of the virus were discovered in March alone
* Servers hosting legitimate content have increased in popularity with malware writers to distribute malicious and illegal content
* Cybercriminals are increasing their use of URL redirects and Web 2.0 sites to disguise their location
* Compared to the overall landscape, the Conficker worm represents a small subset of all threat reports. Autorun malware, a vector used by certain Conficker variants, represented only 10% of all detections reported during the first quarter.

To view the full report, please visit: http://www.mcafee.com/threatsreport

About McAfee, Inc.

McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world’s largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee is relentlessly committed to tackling the world’s toughest security challenges. The company delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems and networks around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the web more securely. Backed by an award-winning research team, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com

NOTE: McAfee, Avert and any additional McAfee marks herein are registered trademarks of McAfee, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. McAfee Red in connection with security is distinctive of McAfee brand products. All other registered and unregistered trademarks herein are the sole property of their respective owners. Product specifications subject to change at any time without prior notice. © 2009 McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved.


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