UK becomes world's third largest virus source

The UK is now responsible for nearly six per cent of the world's internet viruses, almost double its figure the month before, according to the latest stats from managed security services firm Network Box.

The worrying figures for the month of May now mean that the UK is the third largest global source of viruses, after the US in second with 11 per cent and leader Korea which has around 16 per cent.

Russia saw a drop in viruses produced from within its national borders, possibly a result of the taking down of Russian hosting service, PROXIEZ-NET, which is understood to have been used by cyber criminals.

"PROXIEX-NET had advertised itself as being impossible to shut down. But, like the McColo shutdown in November 2008, it is always possible to shut down these hubs of criminal activity," said Network Box internet security analyst Simon Heron.

"However, it does not mean that cyber crooks won't be back up and running in fairly swift order. We saw a dramatic fall in spam as a result of the McColo shutdown, but levels returned to pre-shutdown highs the following month."

When it comes to spam sources, the UK was edged into fourth by Brazil while the US and India took first and second spot respectively.