Microsoft Australia released today the ninth volume of its Security Intelligence Report (SIR v9) into internet security. The report shows the extent to which botnets are providing a launch pad for cybercrime such as spam, phishing, identity theft, click fraud, and advance fee fraud.

A botnet is a computer connected to the Internet that has been set up to forward transmissions, like spam or viruses, to other computers on the Internet, without the knowledge of the computer owner.

Microsoft Australia chief security advisor Stuart Strathde said the internet security report revealed the full extent of the botnet threat.

"SIRv9 contains some of the most detailed research into the botnet threat ever conducted. It is clear that their controllers, known as bot-herders, work hard to sustain, maintain and grow them for financial gain creating an online black market where cybercrime specialists trade with each other"

From April 2010 to June 2010, Microsoft cleaned more than 6.5 million computers of botnet infections. The figure is twice the amount for the same period a year before.

The dominant botnet family in Australia in the second quarter of 2010 was Win32/Alureon. Win32/Alureon declined over the first two quarters of 2010 but still accounted for 25 percent of detected botnets.

SIRv9 showed a number of positive security trends in areas like data breaches involving loss of personal identifiable information which is now experiencing a downward trend with losses falling by 46 percent in the first half of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009.

For more details on the report, visit Microsoft Australia.