It's not an art; it's a science

E-mail attacks and crimes (whether legal or ethical) are on the rise, and the trusting nature of the Internet is being exploited by those who would be better off not breeding (or breathing, in some cases). Still, balancing the philosophy and architecture of the Internet's protocols with a high-security environment is a difficult task.

In the e-mail world, spam, mail bombs and mail storms are all on the rise. Combatting them may sound like an art, but it really is a science. We're finally beginning to see some of the scientists expose their techniques to the world. I've run across two recently written papers that should be required reading for anyone who wants to learn more.

First is Lorris Cranor and Brian LaMacchia's article from the Communications of the ACM. The article is simply called, "Spam!" The authors give a good review of the whole spam problem. They also give a very useful analysis of why it is and where it comes from --- key issues that need to be understood in order to be effective in dealing with spam. You can get the article for free at your local library (Communications of the ACM, August 1998, page 74).

As a side note: if you're in this business and not already a member of the ACM, you should be ---Computer Communications Review is worth the price of admission alone.

Second is Tim Bass' article from IEEE Network (March/April, 1998) "E-mail Bombs and Countermeasures: Cyber Attacks on Availability and Brand Integrity." This article goes into great detail regarding the kinds of attacks that can happen. It talks about some of the strategies that the U.S. Air Force used in the famous "Langley Cyber Attack" to avoid having their mail systems taken down by outsiders.

Joel Snyder is a senior partner with Opus One, a consulting firm in Tucson, Arizona. He spends most of his time on the road helping people build larger, faster, better, and more reliable networks. His professional travels have taken him from San Francisco to St. Petersburg, where he always carries his trusty Macintosh and modem, neither of which have cute names. He is also a member of the Network World Test Alliance and writes extensively on networking topics. Reach him at joel.snyder@opus1.com.

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