[ insider_reports_insider ]
NDR Spam Sees Sharp Increase
Mike Sachoff
Staff Writer
2009-09-14
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
In August 2009, PandaLabs recorded a 2000 percent increase in the amount of different NDR spam messages in circulation (compared to the number of samples detected between January and June of this year). Twenty percent of global spam monitored by Panda Security uses this technique.
 | | NDR Spam Sees Sharp Increase |  |
An NDR (non-delivery report) is an email automatically sent by mail systems to advise senders of problems delivering their messages.
These messages are usually legitimate, but this mail server function is being exploited by spammers to distribute spam using the sender's real name. The spam content is usually sent as an attachment to the fake non-delivery notice. Although in most cases users have not sent the supposedly undelivered email, they still become curious and open it.
"There is presently no consensus on whether NDRs are a technique to evade anti-spam filters or a collateral effect of dictionary attacks; either way, this technique is now among the most widely used," said Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs.
"These waves of spam are usually generated through botnets (infected PCs controlled by attackers to launch spam, etc.). Since most NDRs are legitimate emails and, part of the mail server functionality, many traditional anti-spam techniques did not detect or block them up until now".
About the Author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
More insider_reports_insider Articles
Insider Reports RSS Feed
|
|
iEntry 10th Anniversary
RSS
Archive
