Baltimore, Oct. 24, 2012 – A cooperative international report available today outlines Internet and mobile best practices aimed at curtailing malware, phishing, spyware, bots and other Internet threats, and provides a thorough review of current and emerging threats. “Best Practices to Address Online and Mobile Threats” is a comprehensive assessment of Internet security as it stands today and explains in non-technical language the proactive steps that can help mitigate risks, according to the report’s two major contributors, the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) and the London Action Plan (LAP).
The report is also one of the first global efforts to encourage governments to deploy best practices, which are more often associated with businesses. It focuses on four major areas of concern: malware and botnets, social engineering and phishing, IP and DNS exploits, and mobile threats. To encourage government participation, it has been presented to the 34-member country OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) for review.
“Best Practices to Address Online and Mobile Threats” draws on the tactics that have proven effective over the past decade to reduce online risks, then augments these with forward-thinking recommendations for emerging vulnerabilities, such as mobile text spam and Web abuse. The comprehensive report is available on the websites of several organizations including at /sites/maawg/files/news/M3AAWG_LAP_Best_Practices_to_Address_Online_and_Mobile_Threats.pdf, http://www.londonactionplan.com/files/reports/Best_Practices_to_Address_Online_and_Mobile_Threats_(Oct_2012).pdf and http://www.cauce.org/2012/10/best-practices-report.html.
“As a globally cooperative effort, the report brought together an unprecedented team of experts who outlined safe computing tactics in uncomplicated, accessible language for end-users, large and small businesses, and governments. This is also one of the first efforts to update industry recommendations recognizing that public agencies are important online enterprises, and just as companies need to implement best practices, so do governments,” Alex Bobotek, M3AAWG co-chairman said.
The international community collaboratively stepped up to generate the report in a public-private partnership led by Andre Leduc, manager, national anti-spam coordinating body at the Department of Industry Canada. Industry experts from M3AAWG, LAP and other organizations, such as CAUCE (Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email), contributed to it.
Online threats are evolving as Internet and mobile technologies play a more vital role in many business models, attracting cybercriminals who target users on popular platforms such as laptops, tablets, smartphones and other handheld devices. As the Internet economy grows, implementing the best practices detailed in the report will help reduce illegal activities such as spam, phishing, malware and spyware distribution, botnet deployment, the redirection of Internet traffic to malicious websites and denial of service attacks.
About the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG)
The Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) is where the industry comes together to work against bots, malware, spam, viruses, denial-of-service attacks and other online exploitation. M3AAWG (www.M3AAWG.org) represents more than one billion mailboxes from some of the largest network operators worldwide. It leverages the depth and experience of its global membership to tackle abuse on existing networks and new emerging services through technology, collaboration and public policy. It also works to educate global policy makers on the technical and operational issues related to online abuse and messaging. Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., M3AAWG is an open forum driven by market needs and supported by major network operators and messaging providers.
About the London Action Plan (LAP)
The LAP is a 45-member organization of law enforcement agencies and industry participants focused on fighting spam and other online threats. The LAP conducts regular teleconferences and an annual meeting. Its most recent meeting, held in London, England, in October 2012 included participants from Europe, Asia, North America and Europe.
Media Contact: Linda Marcus, APR, +1-714-974-6356, LMarcus@astra.cc, Astra Communications
M3AAWG Board of Directors: AT&T (NYSE: T); Cloudmark, Inc.; Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA); Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT); Cox Communications; Damballa, Inc.; Eloqua; Facebook; France Telecom (NYSE and Euronext: FTE); La Caixa; Message Bus; PayPal; Return Path; Time Warner Cable; Verizon Communications; and Yahoo! Inc.
M3AAWG Full Members: 1&1 Internet AG; Adaptive Mobile Security LTD; Adobe Systems Inc.; AOL; BAE Systems Detica; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Dynamic Network Services Inc.; Email Sender and Provider Coalition; Experian CheetahMail; Genius; iContact; Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ NASDAQ: IIJI); McAfee Inc.; Message Systems; Mimecast; Nominum, Inc., Proofpoint; Scality; Spamhaus; Sprint; Symantec; Trend Micro, Inc.; and Twitter.
A complete member list is available at http://www.m3aawg.org/about/roster.