U.S., China Cooperate on Fighting Spam

The EastWest Institute's Chief Technology Officer Karl Frederick Rauscher previewed a joint China-United States report on cybersecurity to be published next month. Fighting Spam to Build Trust will be the first product of talks between Chinese and United States experts convened by the EWI, a New York-based international think tank.  

"The EastWest Institute sees this report as part of our larger effort to help overcome the trust deficit between China and the United States on cybersecurity," said Rauscher. At the end of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington last month, the U.S.-China Joint Statement called on the two countries to address cybersecurity issues.

Rauscher co-led the bilateral with Yonglin Zhou, director of the network security committee of the government-controlled Internet Society of China. The report will present voluntary best practices for reducing spam which, according to MAAWG, accounts for about 90 per cent of email traffic.

According to Rauscher, the experts chose to target spam in part because China has made great strides in reducing spam in recent years – a notable achievement given the rapid growth of Internet users in the country.  Rauscher said that the report will emphasize a leadership role for the private sector in both countries. The recommendations for combating spam will include: processes for creating international protocols aimed to differentiate legitimate messages from spam; a call for educating consumers about the risk of botnets; and measures for discouraging spam, such as encouraging ISPs in both countries to use feedback loops.

"This cooperative effort will not end with this report," Zhou said. "Rather, it is a part of an ongoing process between Chinese and United States experts to open dialogue and foster mutual understanding."

Michael O'Reirdan, MAAWG chairman and distinguished engineer at Comcast said, "This dialogue with China is a most welcomed breakthrough – a real step forward.  It comes at an opportune time and can build on the work that has been going on at MAAWG for several years." MAAWG works against spam and online exploitation, representing over one billion mailboxes worldwide.  
EWI President and Founder John E. Mroz added: "The United States and China face large moral and political dilemmas in cooperating on cybersecurity. Do we continue to see each other as enemies or rivals, or do we edge slowly forward trying to find common ground?  We know that the economic and personal security of our citizens depends on a quantum leap in cooperation and an end to the rapidly escalating cyber mistrust."

Multilateral efforts to fight spam will be one of the topics discussed at EWI's upcoming Second Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit, to be held in London June 1-2.

Featured

  • Maximizing Your Security Budget This Year

    7 Ways You Can Secure a High-Traffic Commercial Security Gate  

    Your commercial security gate is one of your most powerful tools to keep thieves off your property. Without a security gate, your commercial perimeter security plan is all for nothing. Read Now

  • Surveillance Cameras Provide Peace of Mind for New Florida Homeowners

    Managing a large estate is never easy. Tack on 2 acres of property and keeping track of the comings and goings of family and visitors becomes nearly impossible. Needless to say, the new owner of a $10 million spec home in Florida was eager for a simple way to monitor and manage his 15,000-square-foot residence, 2,800-square-foot clubhouse and expansive outdoor areas. Read Now

  • Survey: 72% of CISOs Are Concerned Generative AI Solutions Could Result In Security Breach

    Metomic recently released its “2024 CISO Survey: Insights from the Security Leaders Keeping Critical Business Data Safe.” Metomic surveyed more than 400 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) from the U.S. and UK to gain deeper insights on the state of data security. The report includes survey findings on various cybersecurity issues, including security leaders’ top priorities and challenges, SaaS app usage across their organization, and biggest concerns with implementing generative AI solutions. Read Now

  • New Research Shows a Continuing Increase in Ransomware Victims

    GuidePoint Security recently announced the release of GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team’s (GRIT) Q1 2024 Ransomware Report. In addition to revealing a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in the number of ransomware victims, the GRIT Q1 2024 Ransomware Report observes major shifts in the behavioral patterns of ransomware groups following law enforcement activity – including the continued targeting of previously “off-limits” organizations and industries, such as emergency hospitals. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises. 3

  • Hanwha QNO-7012R

    Hanwha QNO-7012R

    The Q Series cameras are equipped with an Open Platform chipset for easy and seamless integration with third-party systems and solutions, and analog video output (CVBS) support for easy camera positioning during installation. A suite of on-board intelligent video analytics covers tampering, directional/virtual line detection, defocus detection, enter/exit, and motion detection. 3

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles. 3