IBM has introduced a new anti-spam technology called Fair use of Unsolicited Commercial Email (FairUCE) that bounces spam back to its sender.
The tool analyzes the domain identity of an email, linking it back to its original IP address and can identify if messages are arriving from a zombie computer, bot or a legitimate email server, according to the company.
The software runs on email servers and compares the IP addresses on incoming messages against databases of known spammers. It has the capability to differentiate between good and bad IP addresses from large Internet service providers, so not all mail from that provider is blocked.
FairUCE can also flag email from servers that have been online for a long period of time.
“Spam has become a high priority security issue for businesses today,” said Stuart McIrvine, IBM director of corporate security strategy. “By creating a multi-layered defense that proactively repels spam at its source, companies can get ahead of spammers and malicious hackers who are always looking for new ways of penetrating IT systems through email.”
FairUCE is designed to minimize the risks of phishing and spoofing, but is still in its infant stages. It is part of IBM’s AlphaWorks program, which distributes the company’s innovations to developers who sign on as early adopters.
AlphaWorks managers are planning to see how its early adopters utilize the product and employ their feedback into further developing FairUCE to combat spam, the company said.
Spam made up 76.3 percent of all email in February, according to IBM’s measurement tool, the
Global Business Security Index.
