Sophos has revealed the top ten viruses and hoaxes causing problems for businesses around the world during the month of February 2006.
The report, compiled from Sophos's global network of monitoring stations, reveals that a Trojan horse, Clagger-G, has infiltrated the chart this month, demonstrating that today's financially motivated threats use a combination of malware and spam technology. Nyxem-D, dubbed the Kama Sutra worm, has crept up from fourth to second position, showing the success of its erotic camouflage.
The top ten viruses in February 2006 were as follows:
1 W32/Netsky-P 13.9%
2 W32/Nyxem-D 9.3%
3 W32/Bagle-Zip 8.8%
4 W32/Zafi-B 8.4%
5 W32/Mytob-FO 6.0%
6 W32/Mytob-EX 3.7%
7 W32/Bagle-CH 2.7%
8 Troj/Clagger-G 2.6%
9 W32/Netsky-D 2.4%
10 W32/Mytob-BE 2.3%
Others 39.9%
Nyxem-D, was first detected on 18 January and is still gathering momentum, accounting for 9.3% of this month's reported malware. The email worm uses a variety of pornographic disguises in an attempt to spread and disable security software.
However, this headline-grabbing worm has failed to topple old-timer Netsky-P, which has climbed back to the number one spot after three months in the shadow of Sober-Z, programmed to stop spreading on 6 January 2006. Netsky-P was first detected in March 2004, and has relentlessly blighted unprotected users ever since.
Most interesting is the appearance of Trojan horse, Clagger-G, in the chart this month at number eight, which is a clear demonstration of mass spamming holding its own against self-spreading malware.
Carole Theriault, senior security consultant at Sophos, commented,
"In order for this Clagger Trojan to make an appearance in the top ten, it must have been spammed out to millions and millions of email addresses worldwide. Trojan horses, which cannot spread on their own, account for roughly two-thirds of all reported malware. Rather than mass bombardment, most Trojan creators focus on small targeted groups to pilfer cash and sensitive information."
Sophos's research shows that 1.1% or 1 in 90 emails is currently viral.
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