[ISN] IBM offers "strikeback" service to counter spammers

[InfoSec News]

Forwarded from: Richard Forno <rforno at infowarrior.org>

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/22/technology/ibm_spam/index.htm?cnn=yes

March 22, 2005

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - IBM unveiled a service Tuesday that sends
unwanted e-mails back to the spammers who sent them.

The new IBM (Research) service, known as FairUCE, essentially uses a
giant database to identify computers that are sending spam. E-mails
coming from a computer on the spam database are sent directly back to
the computer, not just the e-mail account, that sent them.

"Spam has become a high priority security issue for businesses today,"  
Stuart McIrvine, IBM's director of corporate security strategy, said
in a prepared statement.

"By creating a multi-layered defense that proactively repels spam at
its source, companies can get ahead of spammers and malicious hackers
who are always looking for new ways of penetrating IT systems through
e-mail."

IBM said the new solution effectively minimizes the growing threats of
"phishing and spoofing -- tactics used to trick people into disclosing
information that can lead to identity theft."

The company said its FairUCE spam technology will allow customers to
identify incoming spam before it gums up their systems. Also, IBM said
its anti-spam technology will alleviate the need for content
filtering, which heavily taxes IT systems, siphoning off bandwidth
otherwise used for business purposes.

IBM has previously offered anti-spam filter technology, but this is
the first time the company has developed technology to "send spam back
to the spammer," according to IBM spokeswoman Kelli Gail. IBM is not
concerned about liability, even in cases where innocent senders might
be misidentified as spammers, because all the technology does is
bounce back the e-mails, said Gail.

IBM said in a separate report that, in February, 76 percent of all
e-mails were spam, down 7 percent from the January level. Also, 2
percent of all e-mails carried a virus or some other "malicious
content," according to the report.

IBM stock edged higher in midday trading on the New York Stock
Exchange.