India emerges as world's top spam source: Report

London - Despite only 5.3 percent of the world's Internet users reportedly living in India, the country has emerged as the top spam sending nation across the globe, a report has  revealed.
 
Asia increased its output and is now responsible for relaying 49.7 percent of all spam captured in SophosLabs's global network of spam traps.
 
According to Enterprise Innovation, India was accountable for 11.4 percent of the world's spam seen throughout April, May and June.
 
In terms of share in the global total, other spam-relaying countries are Italy (7 pct), South Korea (6.7 pct), USA (6.2pct), Vietnam (5.8pct), Brazil (4.4pct), Pakistan (3.7pct), China (3.2pct), France  (3.1pct), Russia (2.9pct), Poland 2.7pct, and Taiwan (2.6pct).
 
According to the report, the rest of the world accounts for 40.3 percent of global spam.
 
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, pointed out that the chief driver for Asia's dominance in the spam charts is the 'sheer number of compromised computers in the  continent'.
 
"Malicious hackers hijack poorly-protected computers, and command them, without their owners realizing, to send out unwanted money-making messages and malicious links," the report  quoted Cluley, as saying.
 
"Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that their PC or Mac is properly defended against such attacks. If they take no care over their computers they're simply adding to the world's spam  problem," he added.