PRESS RELEASE

LONDON -- April 29, 2009 -- IT security and control firm Sophos has published its latest report into the top twelve spam relaying countries, covering the first quarter of 2009. The United States continues its reign as the king of spam, relaying more than 15 percent of global spam messages.

Conversely, the United Kingdom has disappeared from the 'Dirty Dozen' for the first time in two years, polling 14th overall, and relaying 2.1 percent of the world's spam.

Brazil has seen the biggest increase in spam output, jumping from fourth to second place since last quarter. The country is now the source of more than 10 percent of spam emails, compared to 4.3 percent during the same period last year. Germany joins the UK in dropping out of the top twelve since last quarter, with Poland and Columbia returning to the table for the first time since Q2 and Q3 2008 respectively.

The top twelve spam relaying countries for January to March 2009 are as follows: