Microsoft's spam efforts will take years to work – Gartner
Microsoft's spam efforts will take years to work – Gartner
The latest proposed improvements from Microsoft in email authentication and enterprise boundary protection to fight spam will take years to make any sort of impact on the problem of the rising tide of spam.
That is the stark message from analysts Gartner Group in response to last week's announcements by the software giant.
Microsoft introduced two initiatives – The Coordinated Spam Reduction Initiative (CSRI) and Caller ID for Email (to enable enterprises to identify message senders and determine whether they are legitimate), and Microsoft Exchange Edge Services, which will enhance SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to protect against spam and make mail delivery more effective.
According to Gartner analyst Arabella Hallawell, the problem with Caller ID for Email is that it is the third major email authentication specification to emerge, after Sender permitted Form and Yahoo Domain Keys.
"These multiple specifications will impede adoption, as will the need to introduce new enterprise practices and technology upgrades. The various email authentication initiatives will accelerate the spread of domain-to-domain authentication among early technology adopters and regulated industries. Still, Gartner expects fewer than 25 percent of enterprises to adopt any of these e-mail authentication standards through 2005."
Hallawell adds that although better authentication may help to stem the flood of scams and offensive content from "bad" spammers, it will not stop the flow of unwanted e-mails from legitimate domains and companies.
"As with the Platform for Privacy Preferences, the proposal for better email marketing and privacy practices and standards that is outlined in CSRI will have limited effect. Stricter regulation and the adoption of reputation systems will be required."
Hallawell also cast doubt on the prospects for success of Microsoft's new version of Exchange with enhanced security, given the lack of credibility in the security of Microsoft products.
"Enterprise spam filtering depends on sophisticated detection, management and content and research updates. Don't expect Microsoft to provide the best-of-breed capabilities in these areas."
On a more positive note, Gartner expects Microsoft's initiatives to spur best-of-breed antispam vendors to provide better integration of Microsoft's and other vendors' email client/server platforms, with those vendors whose email security plug-ins have limited detection and management to be eventually pushed out of the market by the second half of next year.
Gartner is advising organisations not to expect significant reductions in the volume of spam before 2006, and to plan to rely on third-party solutions. It is also encouraging organisations to develop better trust models for the emails exchanged with partners and customers, and to pressure their spam filtering and email security vendor to allow them to set up and enforce such policies more easily.
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