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Severe financial penalties along with strict codes of practice are the weapons being used to eradicate the menace of unsolicited emails
THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTRALIA'S first anti-spam team, Anthony Wing, has a rather full in-tray. His job is to lead the Australian Communication Authority's (ACA) shock troops against a mysterious new enemy that infests the world's fibreoptic cables. The enemy is spam, now a generic term for unsolicited email, which had its origins as the slang term for unsolicited commercial email (UCE).
The catalyst for Wing's job was the Federal Spam Act 2003, which came into force on 10 April 2004, seeking to outlaw any organisation sending unwanted emails. Spam is mostly an irritant, and sometimes highly noxious. It can take the form of infantile sales pitches, such as those sent to men about the size of their penises, or it can be the bogus promises of great wealth sent via a daily stream of puerile gambling and casino offers.
SURGE IN SYSTEMS
Spam is increasingly destructive: viral spam mail now accounts for billions of dollars in restorative software engineering. This is noted through the huge success of anti-viral and spyware systems, produced solely to combat viral emails.
"We've had 50,000 reports and 900 formal complaints of spam mail since the Act came into effect," says Wing.
While more than 95% of spam is generated by overseas sources, a growing amount has been sourced to Australian organisations, whose email operations are being updated and improved to match the demands of the Act. "We have warned 180 businesses and got a response from most of them. They're taking steps to fix up their problems," Wing says.
These are not, as one might expect, garage companies run by pimply teenagers with nothing better to do than deluge the world with their online rubbish. In fact, 50 of the 180 organisations are Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) top-100 companies. Required improvements may range from simply ensuring the 'unsubscribe' option works, through to a complete overhaul.
PERSISTORS PENALISED
The companies are being asked to ensure their existing email systems conform to the requirements of the Act, during the caretaker phase. Should they ignore Wing's entreaties, then a hard-headed approach may be required, including the possible application of the...