2008-12-01
Abstract
Spam levels rise again after massive drop.
Copyright © 2008 Virus Bulletin
Spam levels have started to rise again just two weeks after a massive drop when web‑hosting firm McColo was taken offline.
McColo – which hosted botnet control centres that controlled zombies around the world and which were responsible for more than 75% of the spam sent globally each day – was taken offline by its upstream providers last month after security researcher Brian Kreb presented them with evidence about suspicious activities on the provider’s network. Spam levels plummeted almost instantly.
Now, however, spam levels have begun to rise again. Estimates vary as to the extent of the rise, IronPort Systems putting the level of spam at less than half that prior to the McColo shutdown, while MessageLabs believes the level to have risen to around two-thirds that prior to the shutdown. Of course, none of this comes as a surprise – researchers have been expecting to see botnets kick back into action and the last few days of November saw the resurrection of the Rustock and Srizbi botnets, each of which is capable of sending massive amounts of spam.
While levels are currently lower than prior to the McColo shutdown, there is little doubt that this month will see spam levels reach record heights again.
