21 Jan 2004
Danish firm receives $67,000 fine for sending spam, Sophos comments
According to media reports, a Danish telecoms equipment firm has
been fined a record 400,000 Danish Kroner (over $67,000) for
sending 1500 unsolicited emails.
The Danish National Consumer Agency brought the case against
Aircom Erhverv, claiming that the firm had breached Denmark's
marketing practice laws by sending the unsolicited commercial
emails.
Denmark's anti-spam laws mean that courts can fine guilty
companies 10,000 Danish Kroner (approximately $1700) for up to 100
spam emails sent and a further 100 Kroner (approximately $17) for
every spam email beyond 100.
"It's encouraging to see the authorities in Denmark taking
action against their home-grown spammers, but a lot of spam comes
from outside the European Union," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "There is no evidence that the
level of spam hitting users' desktops has reduced since laws
targeting spammers have begun to be introduced. The message for
companies is simple - invest in a quality anti-spam solution at
your email gateway, don't wait with fingers crossed for all the
spammers to be caught."
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend
businesses from the threats of both spam and viruses.
About Sophos
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.