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New AVG Research Shows 55,000 Computers Compromised Worldwide by Cybercriminals Using Mumba Botnet

One-Third of Infected PCs in the U.S. — Other Affected Nations Include Germany, Spain, UK, Mexico and Canada

Melbourne, 3 August 2010 – AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd today issued a report developed by the AVG Web Security Research Team which identified a global network of 55,000 malware-infected computers infected by the Mumba botnet.

The report, which can be downloaded at http://www.avg.com.au/resources/whitepapers/, found that the Mumba botnet has stolen more than 60GB of personal data from users including credentials from social networking web sites, bank account details, credit card numbers and emails. The United States had the highest share of PCs infected by the Mumba botnet (33 percent), followed by Germany (17 percent), Spain (7 percent), United Kingdom (6 percent), Mexico and Canada (both 5 percent).

The Mumba botnet was created by one of the most sophisticated groups of cybercriminals on the Internet known as the Avalanche Group who perfected a mass-production system for deploying phishing sites and data-stealing malware. Mumba uses the latest version of Zeus, currently one of the most common malwares.

“The unique infrastructure of the Mumba botnet means that going after the servers hosting the stolen data is now much more difficult than before,” said Lloyd Borrett, Security Evangelist at AVG (AU/NZ). “As cyber criminals become increasingly sophisticated, it is paramount that consumers and corporations prevent their PCs from becoming the next victim in these dynamic cyber attacks by using anti-virus and link scanning tools such as those that AVG offers free.”

AVG’s award winning free anti-virus software and its innovative AVG LinkScanner® safe search and surf product protects users against the ever increasing online threats by dynamically scanning the web pages for threats in real-time before they open.

About AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd — www.avg.com.au

Based in Melbourne, AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd distributes the AVG range of Anti-Virus and Internet Security products in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. AVG software solutions provide complete real-time protection against the malware, viruses, spam, spyware, adware, worms, Trojans, phishing and exploits used by cyber-criminals, hackers, scammers and identity thieves. AVG protects everything important and personal inside computers — documents, account details and passwords, music, photos and more — all while allowing users to work, bank, shop and play games online in safety.

AVG provides outstanding technical solutions and exceptional value for consumers, small to medium business and enterprise clients. AVG delivers always-on, always up-to-date protection across desktop, and notebook PCs, plus file and e-mail servers in the home and at work in SMBs, corporations, government agencies and educational institutions.