San Francisco, July 18, 2012 – Seeking to throw a little light on those making the Internet a safer experience for all, the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group is now accepting nominations for the first annual J.D. Falk Award, named after the dedicated industry advocate who was instrumental in the growth of M3AAWG and other technical organizations. The award, developed in conjunction with his employer Return Path, Inc. and his family, celebrates J.D. Falk’s life by honoring a specific achievement that enhances the Internet experience, protects end-users, and embodies his spirit of volunteerism and community building.
Nominees can be individuals or teams in an academic or company environment who have developed a service, created a specification or security mechanism, generated notable research, or produced other work reducing online abuse and improving the Internet. The award comes with an honorarium provided by Return Path and M3AAWG will sponsor the winning candidate's attendance at the upcoming 26th M3AAWG General Meeting in Baltimore, Md., Oct. 23-25, where the award will be presented.
“J.D. was a passionate leader and a creative technician who had an ardent sense of humor that came into play when he was facing down obstacles. He had a gift for bringing people together to accomplish difficult tasks. We believe it’s important to instill these qualities in the future of the Internet and are looking to recognize professionals who embody these values,” said Chris Roosenraad, M3AAWG co-chairman for messaging.
Falk chaired several M3AAWG committees, served on its Board of Directors, and was the organization’s document editor. He also was responsible for the feedback loop RFC 6449 and other IETF documents, was a founding director of the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE) and active in other organizations. At Return Path, a company that provides email data intelligence to reduce spam, Falk was the director of Internet standards and governance.
“The integrity and insight that J.D. brought to Return Path continues to shape our culture and guide our mission. It’s an honor to be able to celebrate his legacy and support progress toward his vision of a more secure online world,” said Matt Blumberg, CEO and chairman of Return Path.
Nominations for the J.D. Falk Award must be submitted by Sept. 6, 2012 at /events/jd-falk-award or from the award link in the Program tab on the M3AAWG site. While the J.D. Falk Award recognizes a specific accomplishment, the M3AAWG Mary Litynsky Award – also presented annually by the organization – honors lifetime achievement.
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.
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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.com; iContact; Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ NASDAQ: IIJI); MailUp; McAfee Inc.; Message Systems; Mimecast; Proofpoint (everyone.net); Scality; Spamhaus; Sprint; Symantec; and Trend Micro, Inc.
A complete member list is available at http://www.m3aawg.org/about/roster.