NCC Group, the global information assurance company, released a report indicating that for the second quarter of 2012 there has been a sharp rise in hacks originating in the US, China and Russia.
The report entitled "Origin of Hacks" tracks the origins of unauthorised network access attempts across the world. From April-June 2012, 22.5% of all monitored attempts originated in the US, 49 million more than January-March, when the nation was responsible for 17.4% of global hacks. China was responsible for 15.8% of the monitored global total, and Russia for 13.3%, up on 13.7% and 12.4% respectively.
The top ten hacking nations remain broadly similar to Q1, with the US, China and Russia maintaining their top three positions. The UK has slipped from seventh to ninth, responsible for 2.1% of global hacks over the last quarter.
The findings come days after Experian Credit Expert revealed that the amount of personal information being traded online by criminals has increased threefold since 2010.
"It's not surprising that the US, China and Russia remain the top three hacking nations - they are highly populous and highly connected countries," said Rob Cotton, CEO, NCC Group. "The increase in number of hacks could indicate a rise in malicious hacking activity or simply improvements in detection abilities. Ukraine is well known as a cybercrime haven.
"What is clear is that malicious online activity remains incredibly prolific, happening on a global scale and, currently, not being effectively combatted. The information security industry is clustered in a handful of nations, and there isn't nearly enough transparency and collaboration.
"We are calling for greater openness, with mandatory rules of disclosure for organisations that suffer data breaches, and greater collaboration between different nations and different businesses. This should be the foundation from which to shore up defences and prepare our infrastructures in the fight against cybercrime."
TechCentral Reporters