Google to begin publishing figures on malware, phishing sites

U.S. search giant Google says it will start adding malware and phishing data to its biannual transparency reports to make people more aware of online security. The information will be included in the reports intended to inform the public of the numbers of user data requests Google receives from government agencies and courts, PC World reported Tuesday. The reports also contain figures on removal requests received from copyright owners and governments. The new data will highlight unsafe websites Google said generally fall into two categories: malware sites that inject malicious software onto users' computers, and phishing sites which mimic legitimate sites while attempting to persuade users into divulging user names, passwords or other private information online. As of last week, the company said, its Safe Browsing program had detected nearly 42,000 malware sites per week, while for phishing sites, the rate was about 26,000 discovered each week. In a report on the new initiative, Google said by providing details of malware and phishing threats, "we hope to shine some light on the state of web security and encourage safer web security practices."