A report by Internet security company Symantec says Israel generates more computer attacks per Internet user than any other country.
In a report for January-June 2003 published yesterday, Internet security company Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) said the number of attacks per Internet user on computer systems originating in Israel was greater than that from any other country. The report stated that 128 attacks came from Israel for every 10,000 Internet surfers, almost 30% more than the ratio of attacks originating in the US, which was in second place. Israel, which was also in first place in January-June 2002, dropped to second place in July-December 2002.
Although the report is for the first half of 2003, it also mentions Internet virus attacks and worms in August, which caused $2 billion in damage worldwide. In the first half of the year, a business enterprise’s computer systems were subject to an average of 38 attacks per week, almost 19% more than the second half of 2002. 994 different types of viruses and computer worms were discovered, a 123% increase in one year.
51% of all attacks originated in the US, a substantially higher proportion than that given in previous reports. China is in second place with 5.4%, but its rate per Internet user is relatively low. Germany is in third place, with 4.9% of the worldwide total of attacks on computer systems.
Published by Globes [online] -l www.globes.co.il - on October 2, 2003