Interesting People mailing list archives
Massive blocking of incoming e-mail by Verizon
From: "David Farber" <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 14:02:40 -0400
------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
--- Begin Message --- From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 08:19:16 -0700 (PDT)
Dave, Reports have come in from all over of failed mail into Verizon SMTP servers. I first noticed this a couple of days ago, when my own outbound mail (all originating from static IP addresses of long standing) destined for Verizon customers began being rejected with a "spam block" response and a reference to a whitelist request page. Shortly afterwards I learned that even *very* long time static e-mail SMTP source IPs (like SRI!) were also being blocked in a similar fashion. The whitelist page points to two forms -- one for "ISPs" sending mail and one for Verizon customers receiving mail. The ISP form allows you to list individual comma-separated SMTP IP addresses, but doesn't even provide a place for including comments, questions, or additional information. No other contact information is provided either. The form also asks if SPF records were in use, though as we know, spam is as likely as anything else (maybe even more likely) these days to carry SPF or domainkeys records. The Verizon customer form provides a place for comments (don't exceed the designated 45 words though, or the form complains information is missing!) but expects customers to know the sending SMTP hostnames of their correspondents to enter on the form. Reportedly people trying to call customer service for help were greeted by clueless reps (well, yeah, what else did we expect?) I sent in the "ISP" form and got automated e-mail responses (one for each IP address that I had reported) back the next morning, saying that my requests had undergone a "thorough investigation" and that blocks would be cleared within 72 (!) hours. In reality, mail started flowing again just a few hours later. It's interesting that this occurs at the same time as the "AOL blocking Gmail" incident, but these events again demonstrate the level of disruption that can triggered by ad hoc blocking moves by the very large ISPs. This is especially true in an environment where typical consumer users have less and less say about how their e-mail will be processed and delivered, and are often blocked from running their own e-mail servers where they could establish their own e-mail control policies. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, IOIC - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com
--- End Message ---
Current thread:
- Massive blocking of incoming e-mail by Verizon David Farber (Apr 25)