Google on Tuesday said it will begin to regularly publish Internet security data on malware and phishing scams that infect computers and steal consumer information.
Malware, or malicious software, can retrieve sensitive, private information. Viruses and email phishing scams can hobble businesses and are among the top tools used for identity theft, security experts say.
The weekly reports will include the number of malware and phishing sites Google detects as its search-engine crawlers scan the Web. The company said it typically finds about 10,000 such sites a day.
To show the global scale of the problem, Google said it will provide maps of where the viruses are created. The data will be included in Google's Transparency Report, in which the company also discloses government and law enforcement requests for user data.