The United States leads in the number of attacks originating from servers within it borders, and lags in terms of broadband connections, according to the latest State of the Internet report from content delivery network provider Akamai(AKAM).
In the third quarter of 2008, more malicious Internet traffic on the Internet originated in the United States than any other country in the world, surpassing China, the second-highest originator of malware, denial of service attacks and other threats. Between them China and the U.S. accounted for over 45 percent of the observed attack traffic.
Akamai, which supplies content delivery connections to worldwide carriers, service providers and online media companies, has not seen the growth of Internet traffic affected by the recession, at least through 2008. The number of unique IP addresses worldwide connecting to Akamai's network jumped by nearly 10 percent in the quarter.
“Global connectivity saw big advances in the third quarter, with various undersea cable projects getting underway or nearing completion, the commercial launch of WiMAX services in a number of countries, and the announcement of fiber-to-the-premises services that will bring gigabit-speed connections to subscribers in Japan, the Ukraine and the Netherlands.”
Overall, Internet connections are getting faster. The average global broadband speed, the report states, is now 1.5mbps. South Korea is the world’s speediest Web nation, with an average speed of 15mbps. While above average at 3.9mbps, the U.S. fell to No. 17 in Akamai’s rankings.
The spread of broadband connections has boosted Akamai’s business: The carrier said revenues rose by 16 percent in its most recent quarter, and the company enjoys a hefty 77 percent profit margin.