By remotely using the infected
PC
– or networks of
them – spammers are able to keep their identity secret from the
recipients of the spam and the authorities trying to track them
down.
The UK's Office of Fair Trading, the US Federal Trade Commission
and 32 other agencies from around the world hope to tackle the
problem through Operation Spam Zombies, a cross-border initiative
that will involve contacting 3,000 ISPs and urging them to
implement security measures to protect their customers'
computers.
These measures include:
- identifying computers that are sending unusual amounts of
e-mail and taking steps to determine if the computer is acting as a
spam zombie and, if necessary, quarantining the affected computer
until the source of the problem is removed;
- providing plain-language information for customers on how to
keep their home computers secure; and
- providing or pointing their customers to easy-to-use tools to
remove zombie code if their computers become infected.
The next phase of the operation will be to identify likely spam
zombies around the world and the providers that operate the
networks that are hosting them. The agencies, all of which are
partners in the London Action Plan, launched last year to
co-ordinate the enforcement of anti-spam laws, will then notify
these providers of the problem and urge them to implement
corrective measures.
"This is the latest phase of the international effort by the
members of the London Action Plan to tackle the problem of
unsolicited spam e-mails," said Sir John Vickers, OFT Chairman.
"Spam is often the channel for scams and viruses. This operation
aims to work with
ISP
s and the computer and
communications industry to protect consumers from spam."
