IT security and control firm, Sophos, has announced that its Email Security and Control enterprise solution will now include Sender Genotype, a next-generation reputation filtering technology designed to automatically identify and block spam messages from botnets.
Unlike traditional reputation filters, which rely on profiling and blocking known spam senders, Sender Genotype effectively identifies suspicious behaviour from IP addresses which have not yet established a negative reputation, and immediately blocks them from connecting to the e-mail systems of Sophos customers.
Based on data collected in the first half of 2008, SophosLabs estimates that botnets generate 90% of all spam worldwide. This issue is compounded by the fact that spambot networks are usually online for only a matter of minutes, sending targeted messages in low traffic volumes, often using dynamically assigned IP addresses - tactics designed to help spam messages bypass traditional reputation filtering solutions.
Sophos Sender Genotype overcomes these weak spots by monitoring connection requests to the e-mail gateway and rejecting those that show evidence of botnet connections. Even new or unknown senders that have never before sent spam messages, such as zombie machines that have been newly recruited to botnets, can be blocked using this new technology.
"Sender Genotype technology offers a great advantage over spammers," says Brett Myroff, CEO of regional Sophos distributor, Sophos South Africa. "Traditional filtering methods rely on comparing every e-mail against information harvested from previous spam. This is not only process heavy and inefficient but can be unreliable when brand new spam campaigns are launched. Sender Genotype looks at the genetic profile of spam e-mails, allowing instant recognition and automatic blocking."
In addition to the development of Sender Genotype to counter the ever-rising tide of spam, Sophos has recently added Sophos eXtensible Lists (SXL) to its Email Security and Control portfolio. SXL is an online look-up system that dramatically accelerates the distribution of anti-spam intelligence, moving away from traditional scheduled updates to a real-time system that facilitates quicker responses to new and emerging spam campaigns.
Sender Genotype is a free upgrade option for existing and prospective customers of Sophos Email Appliances and PureMessage for UNIX. For more information, visit: www.sophos.com/products/enterprise/email/security-and-control/
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NetXactics, trading as Sophos South Africa, is a South African-based company focused on the provision of security solutions. It is the Master Distributor for UK-based Sophos Plc, one of the leaders in the provision of Network Access Control and Endpoint, Email and Web Security and Control solutions for the corporate environment. For more information, visit Sophos South Africa at www.sophos.co.za. Sophos
Sophos enables enterprises worldwide to secure and control their IT infrastructure. Our network access control, endpoint, web and e-mail solutions simplify security to provide integrated defenses against malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse, data leakage and compliance drift. With over 20 years of experience, we protect over 100 million users in nearly 150 countries with our reliably engineered security solutions and services. Recognized for our high level of customer satisfaction, we have an enviable history of industry awards, reviews and certifications. Sophos is headquartered in Boston, MA and Oxford, UK.
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