(Xinhua via NewsEdge) Singapore ranked second in Asia of having largest number of malicious activity per Internet user, according to Symantec's latest Internet Security Threat Report.
The report said this ranking was due to the small population of Internet users, which meant that each incident carried more proportional weight, according to a local television Channel NewsAsia report.
Data theft, data leakage and the creation of malicious code that targets specific organizations increased, while the US remained the top country of attack origin, Asia was where all the action happens, the report said.
It added that as a financial hub, Singapore has become more susceptible to phishing attacks.
Symantec also said that the stolen confidential information and captured data were sold on 'underground' servers.
'Users should have an Internet security suite with technologies like antivirus, firewalls and anti-phishing that get continually updated,' said Gavin Lowth, Symantec's director of online channels in Asia-Pacific and Japan.
The Philippines meanwhile has one of the highest percentages of electronic junk mail or spam in the region, a BusinessWorld report said.
Symantec said 88% of all email originating in the Philippines was spam, edging out Vietnam's 86% and Sri Lanka's 85%, according to the BusinessWorld report.
But due to relatively few Internet users, the Philippines only produces about 1% of the region's total spam volume, compared to China which accounts for 37%, South Korea at 21% and Japan's 20%, the report said.
© 2007 Xinhua News Agency
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