Security news
Security news17 June 2004
Canadian spammer sued by Yahoo, Sophos reports
Twenty-five-year-old Eric Head from Kitchener, near Toronto in Canada, has been accused of being one of the world's most prolific spammers, sending an alleged 94 million spams in just one month, according to media reports.
In March, the global internet provider Yahoo sued Head, along with his father and brother, for sending spam. This lawsuit is part of an industry crackdown on hundreds of people who are filling email users inboxes with unwanted spam.
Head is reported to having agreed to paying in excess of US $100,000 to Yahoo as part of his settlement.
In a published statement, Eric Head expressed regret and encouraged others to follow in his footsteps: "I urge everyone who is involved in the commercial bulk e-mail business to cease all operations unless and until they are completely compliant with the requirements of the new United States anti-spam laws."
"Email providers and users alike refuse to sit quietly while the spammers gum up their email boxes. Not only does it steal valuable computer resources, it also wastes increasing amounts of users' time," said Carole Theriault, security consultant for Sophos. "Such lawsuits may make people think twice before they get lured into this line of nefarious work."
Eric Head's lawyer, Huey Cotton, said that his client planned to find a new career away from spamming. "He's going to play in a band and find a way to use his knowledge to help protect kids on the internet," said Cotton.
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend businesses from the threats of both spam and viruses.
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