China Home to Half of All Malicious Web Sites

The majority of the Internet's malware-infected websites are located on Chinese networks, finds a new report released today by StopBadware.org, the university-based research initiative aimed at protecting users from dangerous software. The report also identifies the 10 network blocks that contain the largest number of badware sites. Six of the 10 are located in China.

"Sites that infect visiting PCs represent some of the worst of digital pollution," said Jonathan Zittrain, StopBadware.org co-director and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. "Malware is a global problem that requires cooperation across industries and across national borders."

As China strives to hone its image in preparation for the Beijing Olympics, fifty-two percent of the more than 200,000 infected sites StopBadware.org analyzed in late May were hosted by Chinese networks. U.S.-based networks accounted for 21 percent of bad sites. The data were provided by Google's Safe Browsing team and are searchable by URL in the StopBadware.org Badware Website Clearinghouse.