What is Spam?
The term Spam is one which is bandied about a lot these days, predominantly because it has become so invasive in our lives. But in exact terms, what is Spam?
Spam can be defined as the use of electronic messaging platforms to send unsolicited bulk email messages to recipients. It is often referred to as "Junk Mail"
Spam has evolved
Around the world organisations and governments are working to eliminate the incidence of Junk mail and are working together to determine the best methodology for how to stop Spam from coming through to our inbox’s. In Australia for example, the Government has set up laws which govern the sending of unsolicited emails (governed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority - ACMA).
Cyber criminals (encompassing hackers and spammers) have worked tirelessly to avoid detection and ensure their spam and malware gets through the defenses people put up. As a result, what many people don't realise is that these cyber criminals have developed authentic looking emails from authentic addresses which will get through many Spam filters. EnBox however, will stop them dead in their tracks before you get the chance to open them, or even see them.
Today Spam remains a lucrative industry (read some interesting Spam and Email facts) which is a far cry from it's original roots. Spam email now seeks to drive users through to sites which are often laden not only with ‘special offers’ but with malicious code. This code seeks to embed Malware on your system, which allows those who write the code, to either control aspects of your computer, or to capture personal information from you. Think of the recent Sony or SecureID hacking incidents and the valuable customer information that was stolen from them and posted online.
For further information on the evolution of Spam and to learn how to stop junk mail from hitting your network, see also:
Facts About Spam
In recent years there has been a concerted effort to work out how to stop junk mail from being commonplace and on nullifying the threat which it poses to businesses and individuals alike. Thankfully, due to the efforts of software vendors, individuals and government agencies throughout the world, the incidence of Spam has recently started decreasing.
So why is combating Spam so important? Consider these email and Spam facts:
- There are approximately ¾ Billion corporate email users according to figures from Radicati Group
- Over the next four years, they expect corporate email accounts to increase at a faster pace than consumer email accounts
- In 2010, researchers reported that up to 179 Billion Spam and phishing emails were sent daily (Radicati)
- This figure has dropped significantly already in 2011, but there are still approximately 113 Billion Spam emails sent daily
- A recent study of IT security managers, found that 66% are extremely concerned about the risks that Malware and Spam represent
- In 2011, the typical corporate email user receives about 72 emails a day, of which 14 will be Spam (Radicati's Email Statistics Report- 2011-2015)
- Nucleus research found that on average, an employee will spend 16 seconds reviewing and deleting each Spam message
- This means that per year, an employee will spend approximately 13.7 hours managing Spam, not including time spent removing malicious code
- For large organisations, the management of Spam can cost over $3000 per employee
- Botnet’s are often used to send Spam
- Botnets is the term used to describe a network of Malware infected computers which are used to perform malicious procedures
- Until the Rustock Botnet was taken down it contributed a lion’s share of Spam sent daily. An infected botnet PC was capable of sending 25,000 Spam emails an hour
- Osterman Research revealed that Malware’s impact on business can cost organizations $10,000 per single attack
- Spam not only has the potential to have impact on your business operations, but the volume of Spam has tangible impact on business data downloads which costs a business in terms of data usage