Line of Business
Spam totally out of control, experts say
The 30th anniversary of unsolicited e-mail passed by last week with very little fanfare, but its rise to a global multi-million dollar industry from the humble beginnings of one man's attempt to sell some computers is nothing less than astronomical. Experts say there is no end in sight.5/9/2008 6:00:00 AM By: Nestor E. Arellano
Although the motivation may be the same there's now very little to relate today's spammers to the original daddy of unsolicited e-mail, according to technology security experts.
Some 30 years ago, Gary Thuerk, sent out what is widely credited as the first unsolicited marketing e-mail to about 400 of the more than 2,600 people using ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet.
His invitation to an open house where he was selling computers eventually led to sales totaling $12 million but also earned him the ire of many ARPANET users and a stern warning from a major of a defense communication agency who wanted Thuerk to promise he would never send out such an e-mail again.
"There's nearly nothing that can relate Thuerk to what spam has become today. Spam is now totally out of control," said Dermot Harnett, principal analyst of the anti-spam engineering department of Symantec Corp.
Today, spam - the abuse of electronic messaging system to indiscriminately send unwanted bulk messages - accounts for as much as 87 per cent of the world's e-mail, according to Symantec Corp.
Lost productivity caused by problems such as malware and identity theft linked to spam amount to more than $50 billion each year in dealing, says Chip Reeves, national director of Computer Troubleshooters Ltd., a U.S.-based computer service franchise.
Canadian businesses are likely to spend anywhere from $3 to $20 per user per year to combat spam, says Peter Firstbook, research director at analyst firm Gartner Inc.
While Thuerk's spamming exploit may have been motivated by the desire to make money, Harnett or Symantec maintains that the former marketing executive differs from many of today's spammers.
Page Navigation 1) Spam celebrates 30th anniversary. - page 1
2) Thuerk's original spam message. - page 2
3) Taking advantage of social net craze. - page 3
