More ISP's offer email protection in 2010

Spammers start to slowly take advantage of the upcoming changes to IPv6 and the approval for registration of top level domains. Hence, in 2010, protection is not only essential but also a very important element in order to remain competitive in busin

In may 2009 we have reached a peak of 95,6% of all e-mailtraffic that is notified as spam. Last year we have had several changes regarding email traffic and its regulations. Examples of such changes are the new Dutch Spam-law that restricts unsolicited B2B-mailings; European efforts of aligning equality in spam legislation; the approval for registration of top-level domains that results in the creation of new internet extensions; and the upcoming switch to the next generation Internet Protocol 'IPv6', which provides unlimited combinations for the composition of an IP address. The switch to IPv6 includes necessary changes in IP reputation checks against spam-attacks.

Extra service
The need and acknowledgment for spam-protection is stressed by the results of the spam survey in 2009 conducted by ENISA (European Network and Information Security Agency). This survey shows that 4 out of 10 internet service providers (ISP's) that do not have an email security solution yet, consider to implement an anti-spam filter early this year. "Prevention is the key for 2010", says Sam Renkema, director of the Dutch email security firm SpamExperts. "Including a professional anti-spam solution offers ISPs a competitive advantage over those ISPs that are not offering these forms of professional security. This extra security-feature attracts new customers and retains their existing customers. End-users and companies should not have to worry about the spam problem anymore in the future, as this will be dealt with the ISP's in the internet-industry", according to Renkema.

Budget and development
Furthermore, according to the results of the ENISA survey, most companies already reserved a budget targeting email security activities. These budgets vary from small amounts for the individual consumer, up to one million euros for large companies on an annual basis. Proven is that with the continuous development of spam technologies, adequate solutions are required. Currently, non-English spam is arising rapidly and it allows spammers to target a larger audience. Also, online social networks are an ever more interesting target for cybercriminals as it forms a large pool of private information about a large number of people. The continuing cat-and-mouse game between spammers and spam-filters makes it essential to protect oneself against this form of cyber-criminality.