Security news
Security news11 March 2004
US firms take legal action against over 100 spammers, Sophos reports
AOL, Earthlink, Microsoft and Yahoo are taking legal action against over 100 of the world's most prolific spammers. The US firms claim that spammers have falsified email addresses to hide their identities, and used open proxies through innocent third party computers.
Legal documents show that one AOL lawsuit is against 40 unnamed spammers it refers to as "John Does". Yahoo and Microsoft are suing 50 and 25 John Does respectively. In addition there are three lawsuits against specific individuals and associated parties.
"Recent research by Sophos showed that over 50% of all spam is being sent from computers based in the USA, so any action taken against American spammers has to be welcomed," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "However, it is relatively easy for spammers to relocate their businesses overseas making it harder for the USA authorities to put a halt to their activities."
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend businesses from the threats of both spam and viruses. Home users, particularly those with broadband connections to the internet, are advised to ensure their computers are not unwittingly being used by spammers.
