Cloudmark Security Suite Addresses Growing SMS Spam
As mobile users are more frequently pestered by SMS spam, one security vendor is applying its experience in stopping e-mail spam for mobile networks.
And those scammers are also figuring out ways to send higher volumes of messages. Since mobile networks are closed off to the public, the environment is much different than how the public Internet works.
However, in regions such as Asia, scammers have been able to bribe their way into getting access to networks, Cook said.
"It's a closed club, but that club is opening up," Cook said.
In Asia, the cost of sending messages has fallen to nearly nothing due to intense competition between operations.
Spammers will buy lots of SIM cards and "tether" them together, sending masses of SMSs. Operators in Asia also have tended not to invest in security tools and instead been more focused on adding customers, Cook said.
For MobileAuthority, Cloudmark charges its customers per transaction; essentially, a small fee per SMS. For the reputation service component, Cloudmark will charge based on the size of the carrier's network and the data it scans.
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