INTERNET USERS have long known that spam e-mails are an unwanted annoyance, but new research suggests they are also hugely damaging to the environment.
More than 80 per cent of the world’s e-mail traffic is spam, and the transmission and receipt of unwanted e-mails gobble up 33 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, according to anti-virus software specialist McAfee. That is the equivalent of the electricity used by 2.1 million US homes.
The report follows research published yesterday by rival online security firm Symantec showing that cybercriminals are trading stolen credit card details for as little as six US cents, while a person’s full identity can change hands between gangs for 75 cents.
McAfee estimates that 62 trillion spam messages were sent globally last year. The greenhouse gases involved in providing enough electricity to generate, send and then delete this unwanted traffic was the same as the emissions from 3.1 million cars. – ( Guardian service)