Russia is the most dangerous country in the world for Internet users, beating Oman and the United States to the dubious title, antivirus software maker Kaspersky said in its annual bulletin on cyberattacks.
Almost 56 percent of Russia-based web surfers have faced cyberattacks over the past year, according to the survey, Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2011. The country dethroned Iraq, which plummeted to the eight slot on the list, showing marked improvement in combating online crime.
The Persian Gulf state of Oman scored almost 55 percent and came second, same as last year, while the United States rose two places to rank third with 50 percent, said the bulletin, which was released on Thursday.
Former Soviet states dominated the rest of the top 10, which also comprised Armenia, Belorussia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, as well as the African nation of Guinea-Bissau. In total, 22 countries ranked in the increased risk group, where more than 40 percent of web users faced attacks on their computers.
The global average stood at 32.3 percent, up 3 percent from 2010 last year, with 118 countries ranking in the moderate risk zone.
The world’s safest places to go online in 2011 were, ironically, Ethiopia, Haiti, Niger, Togo, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Benin and Myanmar, as well as Denmark, said the bulletin, whose findings are based on data from Kaspersky’s security products.
