Malcode from Mexico and Africa predicted to boom

Developing world expected to contribute heavily to future cybercrime.

A report from

F-Secure

has predicted increasing levels of malware creation and operation in ‘developing’ countries, as internet use and IT competence levels continue to outpace employment opportunities.

While the US, Europe and Japan dominated malware development in the 1990s, and China, Russia and Brazil have been the main sources over the last five years, another step change is expected in the near future. Africa, India, Central America, Malaysia and Indonesia are highlighted as future breeding grounds for malware authors in

F-Secure

‘s ‘malware creation hotspot’ mapping project. The report also points out the worrying likelihood that many of these countries will continue to lag behind the rest of the world in terms of cybercrime regulation and enforcement.

F-Secure

‘s world maps for past, present and future malware creation can be found

here

.

Posted on 17 January 2008 by

Virus Bulletin