Most Computer Hacks Originate in U.S.

By NewsFactor Network | March 19, 2007

The United States generates more malicious computer activity than any other country, and sophisticated hackers worldwide are banding together in highly efficient crime rings, according to a new report.

Researchers at Cupertino-based Symantec Corp. also found that fierce competition in the criminal underworld is driving down prices for stolen financial information.

Criminals may purchase verified credit card numbers for as little as $1, and they can buy a complete identity — a date of birth and U.S. bank account, credit card and government-issued identification numbers — for $14, according to Symantec’s twice-yearly Internet Security Threat Report released Monday.

Researchers at the security software company found that about a third of all computer attacks worldwide in the second half of 2006 originated from machines in the United States. That makes the United States the most fertile breeding ground for threats such as spam, phishing and malicious code — easily surpassing runners-up China, which generates 10 percent of attacks, and Germany, which generates 7 percent.

The United States also leads in “bot network activity.” Bots are compromised computers controlled remotely and operating in concert to pump out spam or perform other nefarious acts.

The legitimate owner of the computer typically doesn’t know the machine has been taken over — and the phenomenon is largely responsible for the palpable increase in junk e-mail in the past half year.

Spam made up 59 percent of all e-mail traffic Symantec monitored. That’s up 5 percentage points from the previous period. Much of the spam was related to stock picks and other financial scams.

The United States is also home to more than half of the world’s “underground economy servers” — typically corporate computers that have been commandeered to facilitate clandestine transactions involving stolen data and may be compromised for as little as two hours or as long as two weeks, according to…

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