Spam is increasingly being used to distribute malware, according to figures from security firm Kaspersky.
The security firm said email distribution of malware threats had soared in the third quarter of the year, and that 4.6% of all spam messages now contained some sort of threat, up from 1.9% in the second quarter.
According to the report, the worrying trend shows that spammers are now linking more closely in “partner programs” that specialise in malware and cybercrime.
“The increase in the volume and quality of mass malicious mailings confirms that spammers and cyber criminals have started acting in unison to create complex infection strategies,” said Darya Gudkova, head of content analysis and research at Kaspersky Lab.
“These include connecting a victim computer to a botnet, sending out spam, stealing personal information and so on.”
Kaspersky’s research showed the most common threats came from fake notifications from resources such as Twitter, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, MySpace, and a number of popular online stores.
The company said links contained in these notifications redirected users to a spammer service that downloaded the Bredolab backdoor, which was then used to download various other Trojans.
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