Spam-virus Marriage Seen As Leading 2004 Internet

"In the last six months, MessageLabs Inc. has seen a steady rise in the use of spam and virus techniques in sending out junk e-mail hawking drugs, pornography and sexual enhancements. "

"The Minneapolis-based company, which filters corporate e-mail for spam and viruses, intercepts about 27 spam messages a second today, up from two per second at the same time last year. Sixty-six percent of those messages are generated from PCs that have been taken over by spammers without the knowledge of the computers' owners, Mark Sunner, chief technology officer for MessageLabs, said.

Emphasis my own.

http://www.securitypipeline.com/news/showA…icleId=16600263

Additional reference:

Mafia recruiting spammers, crackers, AV chief warns

"Spammers, beware - organised criminals are positioning themselves to take a slice of your business."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34420.html