BT first to tackle spam at source
BT is implementing what it says is world?s first fully-automated ?spam buster? system designed to detect and block professional spammers and ?botnet?-infected customers using the BT broadband network. BT is using Content Forensics from StreamShield Networks to scan the millions of e-mails traversing its network every day. This, according to BT provides it with a detailed reports on the location and size of spam-related problems in its BT network.
BT says its security team will then take immediate action against professional spam operators, which could include terminating rogue accounts and adding offending IP addresses to independently maintained black-lists which are used by many ISPs to identify and block 'spam' (However it is not uncommon for 'clean' IP addresses to be added to these black-lists causing considerable inconvenience to the users of those IP addresses).
StreamShield launched Content Forensics in May saying that, prior to its introduction, "service providers have had to rely on crude tools that look for anomalous IP traffic patterns to identify infected users."
