U.S. By Far Top Spam-Producing Country

After nine months of the Can-Spam Act, the United States is far and away the largest producer of spam, sending out nearly three times as much as the second-place country, South Korea.

Sophos, Inc., an anti-virus and anti-spam company based in Lynnfield, Mass., reports that the U.S. — sending out 42.53 percent of all spam — sits far atop its list of the world’s Top 12 Spam-Producing Countries.

”When we released the first report back in February, the U.S. had the excuse that the Can-Spam Act had been in existence for only three months,” says Chris Kraft, senior security analyst at Sophos. ”Six months and millions of spam messages later, it is quite evident that that the Can-Spam legislation has made very little headway in damming the flood of spam. If nine months isn’t long enough to make a significant difference, how long is?”

The Sophos report shows that the most broadband-connected country in the world, South Korea, has consolidated its position as a leading producer of spam — almost tripling the percentage of spam originating from its shores since February. However, Canada, the previous silver medal winner, has managed to significantly decrease its contribution to the world’s overall junk email by more than half, going from 6.8 percent six months ago to 2.9 percent today.

Here is Sophos’ list of the 12 countries most reponsible for spam: