internet security tHreAt rePOrt GOVernMent 2013

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Symantec Corporation
Internet Security Threat Report 2013 :: Volume 18
SPAM AND FRAUD ACTIVITy TRENDS
Analysis of Spam Activity by Geography, Industry Sector, and Company Size
Background
Spam activity trends can also reveal patterns that may be
associated with particular geographical locations or hotspots.
This may be a consequence of social and political changes in the
region, such as increased broadband penetration and increased
competition in the marketplace that can drive down prices,
increasing adoption rates. Of course, there may also be other
factors at work based on the local economic conditions that may
present different risk factors. Similarly, the industry sector may
also have an influence on an organization’s risk factor, where
certain industries may be exposed to different levels of threat
based on the nature of their business.
Moreover, the size of an organization can also play a part in
determining their exposure to risk. SMBs may find themselves
Data
Figure c.3. Proportion of Email Traffic Identified as Spam by Industry Sector, 2012
Source: Symantec.cloud
Marketing/Media
Manufacturing
Recreation
Agriculture
Chem/Pharm
Building/Cons
Telecoms
IT Services
Wholesale
Professional Services
the target of a spam attack because SMBs are perceived to be
softer targets because they are less likely to have the same levels
of security countermeasures as larger organizations, which are
more likely to have greater budgetary expenditure applied to
their anti-spam and security countermeasures.
Methodology
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90%
Analysis of spam activity based on geography, industry, and
size is determined from the patterns of spam activity for
Symantec.cloud clients for threats during 2012.
2011 2012