Stinkysteve
07-08-2004, 08:02 AM
Story here:
http://www.internetweek.com/breakingNews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=22104171
U.N. To Spammers: Two Years And You're Done
By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb News
At a meeting Wednesday in Geneva, the United Nations said that the preservation of the Internet relied on putting a stop to spam, a campaign that within two years could cure the plague of unwanted e-mail.
In opening remarks at a symposium on spam hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Robert Horton, chair of the meeting and acting chairman of the Australian Communications Authority, said, "Spam is a serious problem. It's critical that all organizations make an urgent, concerted effort on spam, embracing not only a strong national approach, but also an international component.
According to Horton, regulators, software makers, and the Internet industry have the means to stymie spam. "As regulators we should set a target of two years to bring spam under control. The world can't wait any longer than that."
Not so fast, say analysts.
"Spam is unbeatable," said Mark Levitt, a vice president of research at IDC. "We can beat it down to a more manageable level, but even in five years, we'll still have spam."
The U.N.'s stance, said Levitt, is mostly a scare tactic. "They want to sound aggressive and scare spammers, show that they're serious," said Levitt. It's also a bit nave. "There's no way a single technology or even a single law can solve the spam problem," added Levitt.
But the U.N. should be part of the spam solution. "It wants to be at the [anti-spam] table. And they need to be at the table to promote technologies and prosecute spammers at the international level," said Levitt.
That's one of the focuses of the Geneva meeting, where regulators from 60 countries as well as groups such as the Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization are in conference Wednesday through Friday.
"International cooperation is needed, since so much of the spam we receive is outside of our individual jurisdictions," Horton said to the symposium's attendees.
A wide set of legislation is necessary to crack spammers, make it harder for them to move to safe havens, and dramatically lower the number of those havens. The ITU said it will provide examples of anti-spam legislation that countries could adopt to make it easier to cooperate in finding and prosecuting spammers.
That's essential, admitted Levitt, but it won't eradicate spam. "Eliminate spam in Europe, for example, and it just goes elsewhere. Spammers will always find shelter."
The best way to combat spam, said Levitt, is to do as much as possible to hit spammers in the pocket. "Any solution needs to raise the cost to spammers. When fewer spams get through, it increases the cost of them doing business. Only once they see that their own bottom line is hurting will they change."
But even impacting the bottom line may not be enough to send spam to Boot Hill. "Spammers are very responsive to what works and what sells," said Levitt, and they can quickly switch from one method or product to another. "All they have to do is change the content or the subject line and they can slip by filters," he said, a much easier job than, say, virus writers. "And look at the dramatic shift away from pornography to medications [by spammers]."
That move has been monitored by multiple anti-spam firms. Porn, for instance, now accounts for just three to five percent of all spam; a year ago, it made up nearly a quarter of junk e-mail. Drug and herbal pitches, however, have jumped in recent months and now account for almost a third of spam.
Horton, however, was optimistic about spam's eventual demise. "The target of two years is...technically feasible," said Horton. "And personally, if we were to do that, it would be a remarkable achievement."
That's one thing everyone would agree on.
http://www.internetweek.com/breakingNews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=22104171
U.N. To Spammers: Two Years And You're Done
By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb News
At a meeting Wednesday in Geneva, the United Nations said that the preservation of the Internet relied on putting a stop to spam, a campaign that within two years could cure the plague of unwanted e-mail.
In opening remarks at a symposium on spam hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Robert Horton, chair of the meeting and acting chairman of the Australian Communications Authority, said, "Spam is a serious problem. It's critical that all organizations make an urgent, concerted effort on spam, embracing not only a strong national approach, but also an international component.
According to Horton, regulators, software makers, and the Internet industry have the means to stymie spam. "As regulators we should set a target of two years to bring spam under control. The world can't wait any longer than that."
Not so fast, say analysts.
"Spam is unbeatable," said Mark Levitt, a vice president of research at IDC. "We can beat it down to a more manageable level, but even in five years, we'll still have spam."
The U.N.'s stance, said Levitt, is mostly a scare tactic. "They want to sound aggressive and scare spammers, show that they're serious," said Levitt. It's also a bit nave. "There's no way a single technology or even a single law can solve the spam problem," added Levitt.
But the U.N. should be part of the spam solution. "It wants to be at the [anti-spam] table. And they need to be at the table to promote technologies and prosecute spammers at the international level," said Levitt.
That's one of the focuses of the Geneva meeting, where regulators from 60 countries as well as groups such as the Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization are in conference Wednesday through Friday.
"International cooperation is needed, since so much of the spam we receive is outside of our individual jurisdictions," Horton said to the symposium's attendees.
A wide set of legislation is necessary to crack spammers, make it harder for them to move to safe havens, and dramatically lower the number of those havens. The ITU said it will provide examples of anti-spam legislation that countries could adopt to make it easier to cooperate in finding and prosecuting spammers.
That's essential, admitted Levitt, but it won't eradicate spam. "Eliminate spam in Europe, for example, and it just goes elsewhere. Spammers will always find shelter."
The best way to combat spam, said Levitt, is to do as much as possible to hit spammers in the pocket. "Any solution needs to raise the cost to spammers. When fewer spams get through, it increases the cost of them doing business. Only once they see that their own bottom line is hurting will they change."
But even impacting the bottom line may not be enough to send spam to Boot Hill. "Spammers are very responsive to what works and what sells," said Levitt, and they can quickly switch from one method or product to another. "All they have to do is change the content or the subject line and they can slip by filters," he said, a much easier job than, say, virus writers. "And look at the dramatic shift away from pornography to medications [by spammers]."
That move has been monitored by multiple anti-spam firms. Porn, for instance, now accounts for just three to five percent of all spam; a year ago, it made up nearly a quarter of junk e-mail. Drug and herbal pitches, however, have jumped in recent months and now account for almost a third of spam.
Horton, however, was optimistic about spam's eventual demise. "The target of two years is...technically feasible," said Horton. "And personally, if we were to do that, it would be a remarkable achievement."
That's one thing everyone would agree on.