Aussie Spam Ranking Drops

  • Australian spam ranking drops
  • 22,500 daily compromises
  • Make up 0.26 percent of spam globally

Sophos’ international spam-relay rankings released yesterday indicate that Australia’s ranking has markedly improved from 25th in September 2011 to 52nd  in the most recent quarter, with Australia accounting for only 0.26 percent of spam globally.

"Spam is a global problem," said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman. "But you can’t deny the success we have had in Australia. With the ACMA’s record in penalising scammers and getting businesses to avoid spamming, as well as our world class Australian Internet Security Initiative, we are streets ahead of many other parts of the world. In 2011/12 the ACMA saw a sixfold increase in spam reports,’ Mr Chapman added. ‘This massive increase tells us that our awareness activities have worked. ‘Australians know to “Ignore it; Report it; and Delete it” as our consumer slogan says. Every scam email and SMS reported to us is a message that doesn’t potentially catch out an Australian."

In the last financial year, 4200 informal warnings were given by the ACMA to businesses about potential breaches of Australia’s spam laws. In addition, following formal investigations, seven formal warnings were given and three enforceable undertakings accepted. The ACMA’s e-marketing blog, which encourages businesses to strive for best practice in e-marketing, was also launched.

The AISI reports every day there is an average of 22,500 compromises to 127 Internet Service Providers. These ISPs represent 98 percent of addresses on the Australian internet. These reports help ISPs and universities to protect their networks and their users from infections that generate scam emails, the theft of personal information and the launch of attacks on websites.