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Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Spam ‘Once Again the Most Popular Choice for Sending Out Malware’

Forty years after the first spam email, it is still the most common method of spreading malware, according to new research released today by global cybersecurity company F-Secure.

Online criminals have gotten savvier, but they still rely on the same techniques they have been using for decades: spewing out massive numbers of emails in order to snare a tiny number of users.

“Email spam is once again the most popular choice for sending out malware,” says Päivi Tynninen, threat intelligence researcher at F-Secure. “Of the spam samples we’ve seen over spring of 2018, 46 percent are dating scams, 23 percent are emails with malicious attachments, and 31 percent contain links to malicious websites.”

If the spam comes from a known individual, the probability of the recipient opening it increases by 12 percent. Having a subject line free from errors improves spam’s success rate by 4.5 percent.

“Spam is becoming an increasingly successful attack vector, with click rates rising from 13.4 percent in the second half of 2017 to 14.2 percent in 2018,” says Adam Sheehan, behavioral science lead at MWR InfoSecurity. With technology so readily available, criminals are adapting to the new opportunities and challenges are getting harder to thwart.

Kalyna White
Kalyna White
Kalyna White assists with events and in the onboarding of new members to the Coalition. She also writes for, and assists with various editorial duties at Homeland Security Today. Prior to re-joining GTSC, Kalyna interned for InfraGard of the National Capital Area where she assisted with the development of the National Critical Infrastructure Security & Resilience Month website, programming, and content. She also interviewed Critical Infrastructure Sector leaders for the website and developed marketing and social media campaigns to engage stakeholders. Kalyna graduated with a B.A. in Political Science, minoring in Middle Eastern Studies and English Literature from U.C. San Diego in 2022. While at U.C.S.D. she was the chapter president of Pi Beta Phi Sorority, and Panhellenic President. She is also the founder and president of LABUkraine, a non-profit organization building computer labs in Ukraine. She is an experienced Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the government relations industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Government, Public Speaking, International Relations, and Writing. She also brings to GTSC, extensive experience gained from the National Student Leadership Conference – Intelligence & National Security and positions of leadership at the Madeira School. She has also interned for Senator John McCain providing general staff assistance including answering phones, responding to constituents, and leading tours of the U.S. Capitol. Additionally, she interned for MXM Consulting and assisted with planning and execution of an annual “Hill Day” visit by corporate members of a non-profit association to Capitol Hill to visit numerous legislators relevant to their interests. In 2016 she was a teacher’s assistant at Garfield Elementary school. Kalyna has also served as the Youth Ambassador to the Women in Homeland Security Board of Directors for 8 years.

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