Spam Sticking in EuropeBy Jay Lyman
December 19, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — European Internet users and businesses are experiencing what their American counterparts did a few years ago as the tide of spam continues to rise across Europe.
The US has seen some success in its crackdown efforts, which include state and federal legal charges against spammers, and lawsuits from the likes of Microsoft. However, in Europe, where stronger data protection and sharing laws had previously mitigated the spam issue to a large degree, users are finding themselves caught off guard by the latest spam surge.
“In general, spam was considered less of a problem (in Europe),” said Basex (basex.com) CEO and Chief Analyst Jonathan Spira, referring to stricter data sharing laws and opt-in requirements. “There are fewer spam-specific clauses in place. At the same time, it’s likely that the defenses against spam in Europe were less robust than the states because it was less of a problem.”
US firm Postini reported in early December that an unprecedented 93 percent of all email worldwide is spam. The email security firm indicated that a lack of laws and regulations on spam will likely be addressed as the problem persists into 2007.
Last November, the European Commission put the spam figure at between 50 and 80 percent of all messages. Regarding European progress to enforce anti-spam measures of 2002 legislation, the EU credited only the Netherlands and Finland with progress against spam.
Praising aggressive prosecutions and fines for spam by Dutch authorities, the EU indicated it would encourage similar action across Europe by easing prosecution and penalties for spammers. Legislation could come early in 2007, officials have said.
Earlier this year, security firm Sophos indicated that the US was not only experiencing a decrease in the amount of spam users received, but that America gave up the dubious distinction of being the biggest source of spam, dropping to about a quarter of the blame, which is equal to Europe’s share, according to Sophos estimates.
European nations. particularly Poland and Spain, saw significant increases in the amount of spam they were receiving, Sophos reported last spring. That increase was also blamed largely on lack of government or law enforcement action against spam.
The news earlier in the year was not all bad, as European nations including the UK and Germany were praised for their anti-spam efforts.
However, the spike in spam for Europe in general appears to be staying ahead of any government or other action that would help stem the unsolicited offers for Viagra, stock deals, and sex pictures. Spammers, who are getting dragged to court in the US, are seeking safer havens, which include nations closer to or within Europe. The EU indicated recently that two-thirds of Europe’s spam is coming from outside the region. The cost of spam because of lost productivity and other resources is estimated at more than $50 billion, according to the EU.
The bad guys are also being aided like never before by armies of hijacked computers, which further tie up bandwidth and network traffic.
Spira, who recommends a perimeter appliance such as IronPort to prevent spam on the network, says hosts that provide email services are in the difficult position of having to block spam without false positives, for which there is little to no tolerance by customers.
Spira indicated there were some lessons learned from the US on fighting spam, but for European governments and users that had not planned for the strong spam growth, the daily deluge is likely to continue.
