On Sundays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week.  Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest stories during the week.

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This week’s story is from BusinessWeek.  It is primarily a slide show the a paragraph of statistics and commentary for each listed country.  The topic is what countries produce or are responsible for the largest portions of global cybercrime. I don’t typically like slide shows as they are just designed to force you to click onto a dozen or so pages to get to the ads, but this one works.  I recommend that you give it a good read. Check it out here:

BusinessWeek.  – Countries with the Most Cybercrime

“Computer security outfit Symantec (SYMC) wanted to find out which countries are responsible for most of the world’s cybercrime. So it began examining where malicious activity took place or originated last year. Symantec learned that countries with the most high-speed Internet connections rank high since constantly connected systems tend to be more attractive to cybercriminals. The top three countries in Symantec’s list are the U.S., China, and Germany—all with high concentrations of broadband connections. The U.S. alone accounted for 23% of all malicious computer activity last year.”

I really liked the counterintuitive conclusion that cybercrime comes not from the nations with the most crime, but from the ones with the greatest access to broadband access.  Based upon the pedigree of the news organization along with their source – Symantec, I am inclined to believe them.  i think that the next time that your Information Assurance or Security Team recommends using geographically based IP filters to block “bad guys”, you may want to remind them that the majority of malicious code is actually coming from the G20 nations…

What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for December 20, 2009  by Scott Coughlin.


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