Spam levels still low a year after Rustock botnet takedown
Posted in: Spam at 06/04/2012 20:15
In March 2011, a Microsoft-led team targeted and decapitated the Rustock botnet, and a dramatic decrease in spam traffic was noticed almost immediately. It turns out that a full year later, spammers have not been able to fill the gaping hole left by Rustock's absence.
Just before the Rustock takedown, "spam levels were around the 150 billion mark daily," security vendor Commtouch said in a new analysis. "Spam levels dropped immediately after that takedown and have continued to decrease ever since. In the first quarter of 2012, an average of 94 billion spam emails were sent per day... There is no sign of a return to pre-Rustock spam levels."
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/04/spam-levels-still-low-a-year-after-rustock-botnet-takedown.ars
