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Around 2.5 per cent of all the emails sent worldwide in 2005 either contained spam, viruses or other high-tech security threats, according to new research from message management business Postini. This represents a sharp increase on the figure of 1.5 per cent reported in 2004.

First detected in late November, the Sober virus accounted for much of this increase; indeed it is now being regarded as the largest virus attack ever recorded. ‘During the thirty days prior to Christmas we stopped over 1.2 billion Sober-containing emails alone,’ notes Postini director Andrew Lochart.

Postini’s latest annual Message Management and Threat Report also revealed that employees of growing businesses received an average of 50 spam emails a day last year, up from 36 in 2004. There was, however, a noticeable shift in the subject of these spam emails with pornography (15 per cent) dropping from first to fourth in the order of prevalence. Offers for discount drugs and software (28 per cent), frauds/scams (27 per cent) and other special offers (20 per cent) were most common.

Looking forward to 2006, Postini anticipates that spammers and hackers will increasingly attempt to exploit other avenues of attack – principally via instant messaging applications, IP telephony and mobile devices. ‘Most companies,’ Lochart suggests, ‘now appreciate the importance of email monitoring, but while this secures the front door to their systems many are leaving the back door open.’

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