‘Dob-in’ a spammer – with a single click

The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) has partnered with Aussie company SpamMATTERS to fight the war against spam.

Sydney, 1st December 2004 - Dobbing in spammers is just a mouse-click away thanks to cutting edge Australian forensic technology currently being piloted by the ACA.

The SpamMATTERS (www.spammatters.com) technology, which has processed 1.3 million spam submissions since September, allows the public to submit spam to the ACA and provides real-time analysis of spam events as they emerge.

SpamMATTERS CEO David Jones said, “Spam has not just increased 30% in volume during 2004 but is becoming increasingly criminal in content and the role of enforcement is becoming critical. Phishing, 419 (Nigerian style scams), Money Laundering and other spam can be submitted quickly and simply giving the government valuable evidence in tracing spammer activity.”

Previous methods of reporting spam have been cumbersome and usually result in the valuable forensic information being lost. The SpamMATTERS submission method ensures the evidentiary value of the spam submission is retained for investigators.

Jones continued, “The collation and forensic extraction provides all the critical forensic data required for further investigation and also delivers where the spammer has used zombies to deliver the spam. The ACA can instantly see the location of zombies, originating country and ISP”. Zombies are typically PCs that have been infected and ‘Trojaned’ by viruses or worms.

“Our real-time processing enables alerting of emerging threats such as Phishing campaigns. Australian financial institutions have been relentlessly targeted by Phishers and some of the faked websites remain ‘live’ for several days. Gartner recently estimated the cost of Phishing exceeds US$1.2 billion,” says Jones. Team members of the ACA also reside within the Australian High Tech Crime Centre (AHTCC) have access to SpamMATTERS tools.

The Australian Communications Authority, the appointed regulator of the Australian Spam Law, has signed an agreement with SpamMATTERS to expand the current pilot to include users from ISP ‘Pacific Internet’ and subsequently to the broader Australian public. The Australian public will be able submit spam to the SpamMATTERS system with a single click from Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Web-form submission or email forwarding.

The ACA has signed Memorandums of Understanding with Korea, UK and USA, in agreement that international collaboration is required in order enforce spam laws. Spammers operate offshore in countries where connectivity is inexpensive but easy to exploit for spamming activities. The information extracted from SpamMATTERS is an excellent tool for such collaboration with International organisations fighting spam on a global level.

For more information or media enquiries David Jones can be contacted via:

International: +612 9412 3806

US Toll-free: 1 866 254 1530

Email: media@spammatters.com

About SpamMATTERS ( www.spammatters.com )

SpamMATTERS delivers technology and services to aid regulators, State Attorneys General, Internet Service Providers and Legal Practices in gathering evidence for legal action against spammers. The company was established in 2003 to support the emergence of state-based and federal Antispam legislation. Despite millions of dollars being spent in spam filtering technologies by ISPs, end-user and corporations the relentless increase in spam continues. At SpamMATTERS, we believe that whilst spam will never disappear, the pandemic can only be brought under control through good legislation and effective enforcement practice.

About the Australian Communication Authority ( www.aca.gov.au )

The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) is responsible for regulating telecommunications and radiocommunications, including promoting industry self-regulation and managing the radiofrequency spectrum. It was established under the Australian Communications Authority Act 1997, and exercises powers under the Telecommunications Act 1997, the Radiocommunications Act 1992, and other related legislation. The ACA falls under the Communications, Information Technology and the Arts portfolio.

Under the Australian Spam Act of 2003, the ACA has the responsibility of accepting spam reports and complaints from the Australian public and ensuring that businesses comply with the requirements of the law.