Industry Gathers to Fight Spam and Online Fraud
by Stephanie Jordan
Upwards of 90 percent of today's spam and deceptive email is forged and spoofed, reveals a recent study. Microsoft Corp. published results culminating from a twoyear- long study on the effectiveness of Sender ID email authentication in helping counter deceptive email. Key findings include:
- Depending on the brand, between 40 and 98 percent of the email sent to Windows Live Hotmail users is actually spoofed and fraudulent.
- Daily 20 million forged messages are detected by Sender ID enabled domains.
- Reputable marketers who have adopted Sender ID have realized improved deliverability with up to 85 percent fewer messages mistakenly marked as spam in Windows Live Hotmail.
- With spam increasing 40 percent in the past 12 months, spam in Hotmail users' inboxes has actually been reduced by 50 percent, of which Sender ID contributed 8 percent of that reduction.
Authentication and Online Trust Summit
The results of the study were announced at the third annual Authentication and Online Trust Summit in April. In early 2004 a group of business, industry and marketing leaders banded together to pursue solutions to authenticate email and improve user confidence. Putting rivalries aside, www.emailauthentication.org was established with the goal of improving trust and confidence in electronic messaging, the Internet and eCommerce. "There was a need in the industry for actionable and prescriptive advice," says Craig Spiezle, executive director of the newly named Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA) and the director of Microsoft technology care and safety. Since its inception that need has not diminished, but has instead amplified with recent escalating and evolving threats. "With today's spoofing, zero-day exploits and image spam-the need remains for actionable advice that can be immediately deployed to help both ISPs and corporations protect their employees and their domains. And on the other side of the spectrum, marketers are struggling with deliverability."
Adoption Taking Hold
Sender ID has enjoyed a threefold increase in adoption, accelerating to 8 million domains worldwide in just under a year. Spiezle believes that email authentication via the Sender ID Framework (SDIF) or DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) is providing tangible business value to brands and users alike. The summit, held April 18 and April 19, attracted over 450 attendees. On the evening of April 18 the AOTA announced the winners of its first annual Online Safety Leadership Awards.
For more on the summit, including presentations and award winners, be sure to visit the AOTA website. For a list of recommended authentication reading, please see Learn More on page 46. SJ/TMP