ACA teams up with ISP in
world-first spam reporting trial
The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) is to join
forces with an Internet service provider in a world-first trial of a spam
reporting system.
The ACA will team up with Pacific Internet and the software development
company Spammatters in the trial.
Acting ACA Chairman Allan Horsley said the anti-spam initiative would
help the ACA to identify the biggest and worst spammers with just one
click.
Under the trial arrangement, Pacific Internet customers can report spam
they receive via a number of methods including a plug-in to Microsoft
Outlook and a web interface.
Mr Horsley said that Spammatters software was easy to use and would
allow those involved in the trial to play an active part in catching spammers.
“When they receive spam, these customers will be able to use the
software to forward it directly to the ACA’s forensics database system
for collection, research, analysis and action,” Mr Horsley said.
“The database system automatically extracts relevant information
from the spam that may help the ACA to track down spammers. This information
can be used as evidence in court because the database also saves the spam
message with the header and body intact. This enhances its usefulness
as legal proof.
“The database system reduces the need for manual spam investigations
and is able to process and analyse very large amounts of spam,” Mr
Horsley said.
The ACA is responsible for enforcing Australia’s new anti-spam laws,
which came into operation on 10 April this year. The Spam Act 2003 prohibits
the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages with an Australian
link and carries fines of up to $1.1 million a day for repeat offenders.
By July this year, several major Australian-based spammers had closed
down as a direct result of the Spam Act coming into force.
As well as actively educating Australian businesses and consumers about
the Spam Act, the ACA is also involved in joint action internationally
in combating spam. Australia has already signed memorandums of understanding
with Korea, the USA and the UK to counter spam
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