Authentication of E-mail Messages: A New Hope Against Junk Spam

Strategic Insights -

Internet users are fed up with the increasing amount of junk e-mail in their inboxes, with some studies suggesting that up to 80% of e-mail traffic is spam. To combat this issue, a group of six of the world's largest e-mail providers, including America Online, EarthLink, Microsoft, Yahoo, Comcast, and British Telecom, have proposed new ways to authenticate e-mail messages, making it harder for spammers to hide their identities and origins. These authentication methods, which will be tested this year, aim to associate a unique identity with each e-mail message, allowing e-mail providers to better sort incoming messages and prevent false "from" information from being used to deceive recipients.

Key Takeaways:

  • The technology that controls e-mail transmission allows spammers to lie about who they are, where they are from, and what they are sending, making it difficult to combat junk email.
  • Six of the world's largest e-mail providers, including America Online, EarthLink, Microsoft, Yahoo, Comcast, and British Telecom, have proposed new ways to authenticate e-mail messages to prevent spammers from hiding their identities.
  • The proposals and recommendations released by the Anti-Spam Technical Alliance suggest that cutting off Internet users whose computers are sending large amounts of spam, and limiting the amount of e-mails sent every day, could help reduce the amount of spam online.
  • The major players agree that authentication is necessary, but differ on how to implement it, with Microsoft favoring a system that relies on unique markers in e-mail messages and Yahoo recommending a digital "signature" on each outgoing message.
  • The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) will publish initial recommendations on e-mail authentication in August, and the Federal Trade Commission plans to address the issue this fall.
  • Authentication of e-mail messages would force spammers to disclose where they are sending their messages from, allowing e-mail providers to better sort incoming messages and prevent false "from" information from being used to deceive recipients.
  • The digital "keys" system recommended by Yahoo would require domain name owners to keep a public record of what IP numbers they use to send e-mail, allowing recipients' e-mail servers to check those records to verify the authenticity of the message.
  • Advocates of the digital "signature" approach agree that the technology is more complex, but provides a more reliable way to identify senders and prevent spammers from using fake "from" lines and IP numbers.

Statistics:

  • Up to 80% of e-mail traffic is spam (According to some studies, though the specific study is not cited in the text).
  • Half of the spam received by Hotmail is spoofed (According to Microsoft Corp. spokesman Sean Sundwall).
  • The Anti-Spam Technical Alliance is comprised of six of the world's largest e-mail providers (America Online, EarthLink, Microsoft, Yahoo, Comcast, and British Telecom).
  • The IETF will publish initial recommendations on e-mail authentication in August.
  • The Federal Trade Commission plans to address the issue of e-mail authentication this fall.

Sources:

  • The Anti-Spam Technical Alliance.
  • Federal Trade Commission.
  • America Online.
  • EarthLink.
  • Microsoft Corp.
  • Yahoo.
  • British Telecom.
  • Comcast.
  • Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).