A leading managed security service provider, MX Logic, Inc., has observed a fast start to 2008 for spam and malware threats compared to previous years.

News Facts:

   * Spam volumes typically decrease during the first few months of a new year, dropping by as much as 30 percent from holiday peak periods.
    * This year spam levels appear to be steady and even rising, particularly with phishing emails, which increased 100 percent between January and February.
    * Increasing by 60 percent during the same timeframe, image spam also grew
    * Social engineering tactics such as the Microsoft update notices or phony Google search results that forward users to sites that have been abused by the Google PageRank system continue to propagate.
    *  Including Drive-by Pharming and Master Boot Record Rootkit attacks, several legacy threats also reemerged in January and February

Useful Links:
MX Logic Threat Center: www.mxlogic.com/threat_center/
Link to Sam Masiello’s blog: http://www.mxlogic.com/itsecurityblog/index.cfm
Spam Cost Calculator: http://www.mxlogic.com/resources/spam_calculator/

Quotes from Sam Masiello, Director of Threat Management, MX Logic:

“This year has in some ways bucked the trend as we’ve seen a number of unusual developments just in the first two months of the year with MBR Rootkits, Drive-by Pharming, and high spam volumes, which normally drop off after the first of the year.”

“This shows that spammers are as committed as ever to exploiting the vulnerabilities of email wherever and whenever they can, so it’s especially important to be vigilant about security.”

“While these trends and events are important to follow, using our MX Logic Email Defense Service can virtually eliminate the need to worry about them since it provides a flexible architecture with multiple layers of protection that are constantly updated.”

Being a leading provider of managed email and Web security services, MX Logic delivers enterprise-grade performance without enterprise-level complexity and cost. Our easy-to-use, award-winning services lower overall IT costs, reduce risk and liability, and increase productivity. MX Logic services are available through our industry-leading partner network.