Spam Attacks at All-Time High

October 27, 2000

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — The amount of spam received by email users has grown at an astounding rate over the past year according to new information released by Brightmail, Inc., the premier provider of spam-filtering solutions. Brightmail experts reported today that they are intercepting an average of 4,900 junk email attacks per day -- 400% higher than a year ago. To combat this problem, leading ISPs such as AT&T WorldNet Services and EarthLink are using the Brightmail Anti-Spam Solution, the most complete email filtering solution on the market today.

"As more people go online, spammers are becoming more aggressive about reaching email users' inboxes," said Gary Hermansen, Brightmail CEO. "They're also getting more sophisticated at overwhelming and avoiding traditional reactive filtering techniques, so more spam is getting through. Our protective anti-spam approach uses a real-time early warning network to counter spammers' attempts at avoiding detection and identification."

Spam attacks degrade server performance, affect email service, and increase customer churn. To drive home the potentially crippling impact that spam has on their email networks, Brightmail has created the Brightmail Spamometer, a unique online tool that gives Brightmail customers a weekly snapshot of Internet spam attacks. The Spamometer displays the level of the spam threat compared to previous weeks; the quantity of attacks; and the general categories into which these spam attacks fall. It can be viewed at www.brightmail.com/spam/spamometer.shtml.

The Brightmail "Spamometer": A Weather Report for Spam

The Spamometer draws its data from Brightmail's proprietary Probe Network(TM). The Probe Network funnels spam attacks directly to the Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center (TM) (BLOC(TM)). Here, Brightmail experts analyze the data and compile it into charts. Using the technology and expertise that make Brightmail's unique spam-fighting tool the most effective on the market today, the Spamometer presents a revealing cross-section of spamming activity across the Internet.

The Spamometer compiles data into three main types of charts:

Spam Index: Just as a weather report might indicate whether pollen counts are low, medium, or high, the Spam Index chart gives a reading on the sheer quantity of spam traveling across the Internet. As the index moves up, the load on a provider's networks -- and the chance of failure -- increases.
Spam Attacks: The Spam Attacks chart displays the number of spam attacks affecting the Internet during the last week. (A spam attack refers to a unique message body sent during a 24-hour period.
Spam Type: The Spam Type chart sorts the spam into eight categories: adult, financial, health, personal, political, product, spiritual and other. Despite the common perception that most spam peddles pornography, far more messages offer mundane office and household products or financial schemes.

As the Brightmail Spamometer shows, there's no time to lose in the battle against spam. According to Ferris Research, 10% of a typical user's email is spam, but by 2005 the figure is projected to grow to 40% of all inbound e- mail.

Brightmail Solution Suite Includes Leading Anti-Spam and Anti-Virus

The Brightmail Anti-Spam Solution combines cutting-edge message-filtering software with the Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center (TM) (BLOC(TM)), which is staffed by spam-fighting experts. These experts work around the clock to identify spam using the Probe Network, a collection of millions of email addresses that trap spam for analysis. Brightmail Anti-Spam Solution is designed for ISPs and ASPs looking for a cost-effective reliable method of stopping spam from reaching their customers.

The Brightmail Anti-Spam Solution is part of the Brightmail Solution Suite, the first complete email security system for carrier-class messaging systems. The suite also includes the Brightmail Anti-Virus Solution, which identifies and eliminates email-borne viruses quickly and effectively at the server level before malicious code can reach end-user mailboxes.

About Brightmail

Brightmail, Inc. provides filtering solutions that enable ISPs, ASPs and portals to control and protect their email systems. The Brightmail Solution Suite, which includes Brightmail Anti-Spam and Brightmail Anti-Virus, is a carrier-class mailwall that filters messages to block spam and email-borne viruses, and can be extended to provide other forms of content control. To ensure the earliest detection of email-borne threats, the Brightmail Probe Network and the continuously staffed Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center (BLOC) analyze each attack and rapidly deploy countermeasures to customer networks. Brightmail is a privately held firm with funding from Accel Partners, Crosslink Capital, Symantec Corporation, and Technology Crossover Ventures. For more information about Brightmail, please visit the company's Web site at www.brightmail.com.

NOTE: Brightmail, Probe Network, Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center, and BLOC are trademarks of Brightmail, Inc.