August 30, 2007

FEATURE EDITORIAL

Cell Phone Users Experience Text Spam

Across the country this past weekend, many folks received a spam message for the first time. While a common problem with email, the shear volume that bypassed filters resulted in this being the first instance of text spam to be received by so many cell phone users. (Myself included.) It was the usual stock offering spam.

Verizon Wireless suspects the attack used an automated random dialer. "We take great lengths in the way of filters and technology to actually block most of these," notes Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Georgia Taylor. "Up to 50,000 text messages are blocked each day." Sprint spokeswoman Caroline Semerdjian believes there were two simultaneous spam attacks, that worked to overload their filters, allowing many of the junk messages to make it through to users' phones. Customers of AT&T and U.S. Cellular have also acknowledged receiving the same spam message. If this persists, one can only imagine the headache this will cause the major carriers, as customer service is clogged with refund requests for unwanted text messages.

Google Apps Premier Edition: Proceed with Caution

Burton Group, an IT research firm focused on enterprise infrastructure technologies, published a report evaluating Google Apps Premier Edition (GAPE) pinpointing major issues enterprise organizations should consider.

In the report, Google Apps in the Enterprise: A Promotion-Enhancing or Career-Limiting Move for Enterprise Architects? analyst Guy Creese warns IT organizations to do their homework. "Don't be seduced by Google's low price point," says Creese. "The product's rudimentary feature set combined with Google's unique company culture could spell disaster if unwisely deployed." The report recommends organizations must be comfortable with three key areas if considering GAPE: the software as a service (SaaS) delivery model, the capabilities of the solution, and Google as a company.

"Google has helped the industry question long-held beliefs and is contributing largely to the adoption of SaaS solutions," acknowledges Creese. "Unfortunately, Google can't capitalize on these market changes because GAPE currently has weaknesses that large enterprises cannot ignore." He points to the product's lack of user roles, no departmental categories, and minimal records management as examples. Burton Group believes many enterprises will begin investigating SaaS offerings for collaboration and content due to Google's industry influence, but recommends organizations wait for market maturity, or look to more sophisticated offerings.

Update on PDF Attachments and Spam

In our August 16 Messaging Newswire: News & Trends in Email Security, we reported on MessageLabs July 2007 Intelligence Report finding that described how spam sent as PDF attachments was being adopted by more professional spammers and was on the rise. Mere weeks later PDF spam has all but vanished. According to Ron O'Brien, a senior analyst for Sophos recipients of the unwanted PDFs may have found the attachments too time consuming or cumbersome to open. O'Brien is quick to point out, however, that just because we have experienced a decrease, there is no reason to believe that we've seen the last of PDF spam. Indeed, as we know, spam tactics are in constant motion: ebb, flow and evolve.

MESSAGING NEWS CASE STUDY BRIEF:

Proofpoint and NuUnion Credit Union

Proofpoint, Inc., a provider of integrated email security and data loss prevention solutions, recently announced that NuUnion Credit Union has deployed the Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway appliance to protect its messaging systems from spam and viruses, while preventing breaches of privacy regulations and leaks of confidential information. The Proofpoint appliance automatically scans for personal financial information, such as social security numbers and credit card information, making it easy for financial institutions, such as NuUnion, to comply with Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) and other data security regulations.

According to NuUnion, the company needed a messaging security solution that could provide comprehensive defense against both inbound and outbound content security risks. To protect employees from unwanted spam messages and emerging virus attacks, NuUnion deployed the Proofpoint Spam Detection, Proofpoint Virus Protection and Proofpoint Zero-Hour Anti-Virus modules. As a result, NuUnion has eliminated virtually all spam messages, with minimal administrative intervention and hardly any instances of false positives. Using both of Proofpoint's anti-virus modules ensures that email users are protected from different types of malicious code. The company is also using the Proofpoint Regulatory Compliance module to protect its customers' personal and confidential information and to ensure that all outbound messages comply with GLBA regulations.

We welcome your ideas and your news for Messaging Newswire’s News & Trends in Email Security. Let us know what you think by sending your comments to editorial@messagingnews.com. Written or compiled by Stephanie Jordan. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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