Microsoft, Cloudflare, and Google emerge as the most spam-friendly Internet Service Providers
Unsolicited electronic communication, known as spam, at best is annoying, however, at worst can pose many dangers. While the spam issue is as old as the internet itself, to this day, many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have done very little to prevent spammers operating from their networks.
According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team, Microsoft is the most spam-friendly ISP with 433 current known spam issues as of November 4th, 2021. The American tech giant is followed by other multi-billion Internet Service Providers, such as Cloudflare with 430 unresolved spam issues and Google with 352 such issues to date.
The figures are based on the Spamhaus Project Spam ISPs and Spam Countries databases. The databases feature statistics up till November 4th, 2021.
Chinanet GD ranks fourth on the most spam-friendly ISP list. The ISP has 331 ongoing spam issues to date.
Following Chinanet GD is Chinanet JS. It is related to 304 active spam issues.
Other ISPs that turn a blind eye to spammers include uninet.net.mx (288), WIND telecom wind.com.do (245), Chinanet ZJ (232), Chinanet HB (222), and Saudi Telecom Company stc.com.sa (191).
While most spam is distributed for commercial purposes, some spam can be dangerous. Spam may contain malicious links and attachments that can install malware, spyware, trojans, and other malicious programs that may grant spammers access to victims' computers.
Spam may also be used in spoofing or phishing and social engeneering attacks to acquire personal information such as passwords, bank account information, and other sensitive data.
Our other reports suggest that Russia and the US account for more than half of global spam volume within 180 days in 2021.
The top 10 spam-enabling countries
Just as many Internet Service Providers are reluctant to address the ever-growing spam issues, many countries also do very little to fight spammers operating within their borders, essentially becoming safe havens for such threat actors.
As of today, the United States is the most spam-enabling country with 3,054 unresolved spam issues related to spam sources as well as the hosting of spam services.
Next up is China, with 2,531 spam issues, followed by Russia, which occupies the third post on the list with 711 issues.
Other countries in the top ten include the Dominican Republic (384), Japan (382), India (355), South Korea (353), Mexico (341), Vietnam (308), and Turkey (299).