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| LINX Members Unite in The War Against Spam At the recent London Internet Exchange (LINX) AGM, the 200 strong membership agreed operational principles for spam management teams to share information while ensuring that customer privacy is not infringed. The decision was made following a review of a Best Current Practice (BCP) document on spam-busting techniques by Internet expert Dr Richard Clayton, researcher in the Security Group at the University of Cambridge. The study is part of a spambusting research project called "spamHINTS", which is financially supported by LINX and Intel Research. spamHINTS applies traffic data analysis techniques to identifying spam sources without using content analysis. Traffic data analysis of radio signals and telephone traffic has long been used by intelligence agencies to locate enemy forces, and by the police to detect organised criminals; but it is still novel to apply these techniques to the Internet. Having identified spam sources, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) need to co-operate to close down spammers, which is where LINX's Best Current Practice publication comes in. The BCP document pays particular attention to the processes that ISPs should consider when dealing with the abuse issues caused as a direct result of spam and viruses, while respecting data protection laws and customer confidentiality. It is estimated that over 60% of the 84 billion emails sent each day are spam. The new information sharing principles together with Dr Clayton's research demonstrates the continuing commitment of the LINX membership and the industry into fighting spam. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Computing News :: home page |