Spammers capitalize on Janet Jackson breast, um, flap? [sp]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Reply-To: <etzinberg () ignitioncom com>
From: "Emily Tzinberg" <etzinberg () ignitioncom com>
Subject: Spammers Seize Janet Jackson for Latest E-mail Appeals
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 10:04:27 -0500

SurfControl, the world's number one Web and e-mail filtering company, today
noted a predictable upswing in the amount of spam capitalizing on the recent
Janet Jackson scandal.  The company warns IT managers to adjust their spam
filters to block these new spam messages, which redirect recipients to
adult-oriented Web sites.

For information about this and other recent changes in spam content, please
contact me.

Tom Murphy
Ignition Strategic Communications
(202) 339-0111, ext. 103
tmurphy () ignitioncom com
________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:
Christina Frey, SurfControl
831.440.2629  christina.frey () surfcontrol com

Pam Small, Ignition Strategic Communications
202.339.0111 psmall () ignitioncom com


SPAMMERS SEIZE JANET JACKSON FOR LATEST E-MAIL COME-ON

SurfControl Researchers Note Flurry of Spam E-Mails Using Janet Jackson's
Name to Lure Recipients to Pornographic Websites


SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., (February 6, 2004) - The Global Content Team at
SurfControl (LondonSRF), the world's number one Web and e-mail filtering
company, today noted a predictable upswing in the amount of spam making hay
from the Janet Jackson scandal.

Researchers have noted throughout the week an increase in spam carrying the
subject lines designed to capitalize on the scandal that involved pop star
Justin Timberlake tearing the front of Jackson's costume. The most popular
subject lines include: "Latest Janet Jackson nude pictures," "Exposed Janet
Jackson hardcore pictures and videos," "Checkout Janet J, she's so hot
here," "Janet J pic and vids of her available now," and the more creative,
"Janet J nipple slipple."

All the spam identified to date pointed recipients to a Web site with
pictures of nude celebrities selling pictures and videos of the Jackson
incident during the Super Bowl half-time show last Sunday.
"Most of this spam seems to be coming from a single spammer at the moment,
but our experience suggests that there's much more to come," said Susan
Larson, SurfControl's vice president of Global Content. "But since the
pictures are so easy to obtain, Janet Jackson may not have the staying power
among spammers of Paris Hilton. You can be sure we'll keep abreast of the
trend."

On a more serious note, SurfControl reminded IT administrators that e-mail
filtering can substantially reduce the risk to employees using e-mail at
work by stopping spam messages before they enter the corporate network.
Companies using SurfControl E-mail Filter can immediately block spam using
the company's unique Anti-Spam Agent database of more than 100,000 digital
spam "fingerprints."  They also can rely on SurfControl's own multi-layer
technology that uses lexical analysis based on advanced Boolean logic, to
build or update accurate spam-identifying rules and dictionaries.
SurfControl's E-mail Filter also allows companies to add, edit or delete
words, phrases and alphanumeric patterns to construct rules that identify
spam that may be particular to the individual company or industry.   The
technology stops spam messages from ever reaching the end user and should be
backed up with some basic e-mail user education.

About SurfControl

SurfControl plc, the world's number one Web and e-mail filtering company,
delivers on its promise to help companies 'Stop Unwanted Content' in the
workplace by continuous innovation, invention and expansion of its filtering
products to address new content risks as they emerge.  The company is the
leader in the Content Security market, which analysts expect to reach nearly
$2 billion by 2007.

SurfControl is the only company in the security market offering a total
content security solution that combines Web, E-mail (including Anti-Spam and
Anti-Virus) and Instant Message Filters with the industry's largest, most
accurate and relevant content database and adaptive reasoning tools to
automate content recognition.

SurfControl's world-class partners include Sun Microsystems, Check Point,
Cisco, IBM, Research In Motion and Nokia. The company has more than 20,000
customers worldwide, including many of the world's largest corporations, and
employs nearly 450 people in nine separate locations across the United
States, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

For further information and news on SurfControl, please visit
http://www.surfcontrol.com/.

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