SANTA CLARA, Calif–(BUSINESS WIRE)–McAfee today released the“McAfee Threats Report: Fourth Quarter 2010,” revealing a steadygrowth of threats to mobile platforms. The number of pieces of newmobile malware in 2010 increased by 46 percent compared with 2009.The report also uncovered 20 million new pieces of malware in 2010,equating to nearly 55,000 new malware threats every day. Of thealmost 55 million total pieces of malware McAfee Labs hasidentified, 36 percent was created in 2010. Concurrently, spamaccounted for 80 percent of total email traffic in Q4 2010, thelowest point since the first quarter of 2007.

“Our 'Q4 Threats Report' shows that cybercriminals are keepingtabs on what's popular, and what will have the biggest impact fromthe smallest effort,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president ofMcAfee Labs. “In the past few quarters, malware trends have beenvery similar in different geographies, but in the last quarterwe've seen a significant shift in various regions, showing thatcybercriminals are tapped in to trends worldwide. McAfee Labs alsosees the direct correlation between device popularity andcybercriminal activity, a trend we expect to surge in 2011.”

Botnet Infections Increase