back to article Mexico and Africa to become malware hotspots

Central America, India, China and Africa are likely to become the hotspots of malware production and cybercrime over the next five years, according to an analysis by net security firm F-secure. The majority of cybercriminals currently operate from Russia, China and Southern America. The former Soviet republics have become …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Africa?

    Broadband penetration in Africa in the next 5 years... not likely at all.

    As far as I'm aware any real kind of networking infrastructure beyond dial-up can only be found in South-Africa where prices are a joke and promised speeds and actual speeds are two completely different things.

  2. Leonard

    South Africa?

    I agree. Having been to South Africa over December, I would like to see any malware creator try and use dial up. Currently the only provider of broadband in South Africa is Telkom, who charge close on £24 per month for 512kbs and allow you 1GB download!!!!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Er

    "To become"...?

  4. Andy

    Poor law enforcement helps

    Our future president believes that having a shower prevented him from contracting HIV. One of our countries most senior politicians is a man who has been convicted of fraud for accepting a 47% discount on a car in exchange politicial favours. He is currently facing charges of violating his parole by driving drunk.

    Our police commissioner has just been suspended after multiple counts of fraud, corruption, and racketeering were laid against him. It is widely believed that the president was protecting him from investigation. There are 50 murders reported each day in our country, and our minister of Safety and Security has suggested that white people go back to Europe instead of complaining.

    We have good universities, and a semi-decent internet infrastructure. We have idiotic and corrupt politicians, an incompetent police force, and are far behind in -legislating- computer crime. So we are the land of opportunity for malware authors.

    But people who can afford computers and internet access can generally afford not to do crime. We don't have the internet cafe culture that Asia does. The people with programming skills are predominantly white (still) and are more likely to go and work in Ireland or England than stay here and write malware. There are plenty of IT jobs here anyway.

    Unless maybe those OLPC fiends succeed in their plan to distribute computers to the starving masses.

  5. Gav
    Boffin

    malware production

    The story says "production". You don't need a broadband connection to write malware, you only need it if you're hosting any resulting traffic.

    In fact, if anything, having to use dial-up would be an incentive to produce tidy and compact code, thus improving its chances of avoiding detection and being installed. I can think of a few downloads I've done that would have been greatly improved if the coders had had to use dial-up. Surest way of avoiding bloatware.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Brazil

    Check out the Tate's exhibit on mega "cities". There is a great part where a bona fide 3rd world "hacker" says during an interview (to paraphrase) "hey, poor hackers hack better because they deal with shitty equipment." I've no idea as to how true this is, but it was an interesting take on the matter. Hey, he probably makes more money than the guy schlepping around used cardboard all day long featured at the beginning of the video. Now why in the hell did they put this in the "diversity" section of the exhibit......????

    http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/globalcities/diversity.shtm

  7. Ambi Valent
    Stop

    Stop this assumption

    "As far as I'm aware any real kind of networking infrastructure beyond dial-up can only be found in South-Africa where prices are a joke and promised speeds and actual speeds are two completely different things."

    Johan, May be you need to actually travel there before you make any unfoundated conclusion. Personally am from Africa, Kenya in specific and we have broadband though kinda pricey. And as clearly stated you dont need broadband to make malware and traffic it around.

    I agree with El Reg, Africa will be the next target for snoopers like NSA, CIA etc etc....we have several cases of massive compromises and if am not mistaken, you neither need broadband for that either.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @leonard

    "I agree. Having been to South Africa over December, I would like to see any malware creator try and use dial up."

    Now why would that be a problem. Just a question I just wonder what a malware author needs with broadband especially.

  9. Vaughan Trevor Jones
    Stop

    Living in South Africa

    Ok, now this coming from someone who lives in South Africa, yeah sure our broadband sucks, (I only get 2GB cap a month at 384kbps); however if those mallware scum (I mean makers) really want to cause us trouble. They will FIND A WAY TO DO IT!

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Jungle Drum Virus....

    Boom boom da boom da da boom [trojan] boom da da boom di da boom....

    Mine's the tiger pelt coat....

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