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SPAM has become a major hindrance to email productivity and a threat to systems. VeriSign is actively involved in efforts to help define and develop solutions to reduce SPAM.
DNS-Based Solutions
Research into the use of DNS-based anti-SPAM mechanisms dates back to 1995. The meteoric rise of SPAM in the last couple of years has generated a great deal of interest to provide effective anti-SPAM solutions. Many current anti-SPAM protocols are direct descendants of the work conducted within the Internet Research Task Force's Anti-SPAM Research Group.
Because DNS is a service required for the proper delivery of Internet email, using DNS as an anchor for anti-forgery credentials is thought to be the easiest and best method to garner adoption. These DNS-based anti-forgery protocols are categorized based upon the type of credential used: either an IP address or a digital signature. The two most common protocols using IP address credentials are SPF and Sender ID. DKIM is the most prominent protocol to use digital signatures.
VeriSign Leadership
As the largest DNS Top-Level Domain (TLD) operator and a large service provider for DNS hosting services, VeriSign is interested in the deployment of these anti-forgery and anti-SPAM protocols. VeriSign also has considerable experience with security and reputation services, components necessary to make anti-forgery solutions part of more comprehensive anti-SPAM solutions.
VeriSign is an active participant in the IETF, the standards body ratifying these anti-forgery protocols. VeriSign has held leadership positions in the MTA Authorization Records in DNS (MARID) Working Group and the DEA (DNS Email Anti-SPAM) Directorate, and continues to be an active participant in the DKIM effort.
VeriSign also conducts basic research regarding the deployment aspects of these protocols and shares this research with other researchers throughout the Internet design and operations communities.
