The Spam battle

Despite a new federal law and other technological efforts to stop spam, the stuff just seems to keep coming.

Since the junk mail continues to flow, many options are emerging to help combat it. One of those methods is the topic of our Technology Update this week. Based on the stalwart e-mail standard, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, Ironport is promoting SMTPi – an initiative to extend SMTP to add sender identity and reputation information that would authenticates e-mail senders.

Our author (agadre@ironport.com of Ironport) says SMTPi is a framework that includes three essential components – identity, reputation and policy – to create a secure messaging system built on top of SMTP. (Our author says the “i” in SMTPi stands for identity. Migrating to an identity and reputation-based mail system will enforce sender accountability and eliminate many of today’s challenges with e-mail.)

It’s an involved plan that requires a universal identity management system, a way to monitor user e-mail activities and a standard way to apply corporate e-mail policies.

How SMPTi will play in the face of anti-spam efforts from Microsoft, Yahoo, Pobox.com, Taughannock and others remains to be seen.

For more on SMPTi see: https://www.nwfusion.com/news/tech/2004/0419techupdate.html