IceWarp Discovers New Sophisticated Spam Delivery Method

PRESS RELEASE

Springfield, VA – May 13, 2013 – IceWarp has discovered a new sophisticated Spam delivery method hackers use to bypass most anti-spam defenses and attack computers worldwide, the global messaging and collaborations solutions provider announced today. According to the company's security experts, the following pattern has emerged: hackers steal email addresses and passwords from the outside nodes, and use this combo to break into a corporate email system.

The recent IceWarp security situation analysis showed that the attackers are exploiting the fact that many users often choose the same password for their social media accounts and corporate email. That negligence opens wide opportunities for hackers even if they are able to get hold of just a few passwords. The recent hack of LivingSocial, a popular daily deals platform, showed that cyber criminals immediately applied stolen passwords to break into corporate email accounts.

"The email address is decomposed into two parts, where the domain part is used to lookup the mail server using its DNS MX record (publicly accessible), and the username authenticates that user to the server," explained Antonin Prukl, IceWarp Technical Director. "Once intruders get access to server, they look into the IMAP folder for the recent emails sent by the account's owner. Then they send spam to these email addresses from the same server."

This tactics makes spam attacks extremely effective, since, in most cases, the hijacked sender is on the recipient's server white list.

"There is nothing suspicious in getting an email from an "approved" sender," notes Mr. Prukl. "Such spam delivery process is almost impossible to detect and stop."

According to IceWarp security team, the only effective countermeasure – a part of strict password enforcement policy - is the technical capability to force users to change passwords at the first signs of such an attack.

"IceWarp administration features make password administration easy," says Mr. Prukl. "All administrators have to do is to force users to change their password when they log on. This can be done with just a few mouse clicks."

More information on IceWarp password policy enforcement capabilities can be found here: http://www.icewarp.com/support/online_help/11.0/Content/485.htm

IceWarp, which is considered one of the world's most secure messaging platforms (its anstispam module is using 20 spam protection techniques) is offering special protection options to ward off sophisticated hackers not available from other vendors. One of them is a special trigger administrators can use to issue a company-wide warning and make user change their password once they log into the system. Additionally, the administrators can enforce the password strength, such as including letters, numbers and symbols.

ABOUT ICEWARP

IceWarp is an emerging provider of comprehensive messaging solutions for every business class, size and niche. Building upon a decade of enterprise e-mail platforms experience, IceWarp offers organizations an all-in-one highly secure solution that enables their mobile workforce to communicate through any platform, be it e-mail, mobile synchronization, chat, SMS, voice or video. The highly scalable product can easily be used by organizations of all sizes, from SMBs to large corporations, delivering ease of deployment, exceptional reliability and scalability. IceWarp's solutions are available in over 40 countries through a comprehensive network of distributors.

A rare exception in the messaging space, IceWarp's architecture is based on universal standards, doesn't depend on any client and supports all mobile devices currently on the market.

The company is also offering other products built on its proven core platform. One is LiveWebAssist, a multilingual business chat that allows companies to better monetize website traffic by interacting live with website visitors, from any location, through any device – desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. The other is eVisitCare - the doctor-patient secure email communications system.

Already recognized as a leading email solutions provider and a viable Microsoft Exchange alternative, IceWarp (formerly Merak Mail Server) is deployed in more than 20,000 organizations and supports over 50 million users worldwide. The company disrupts the messaging category by delivering all email, mobile synchronization, SMS, chat, voice and video capabilities in one integrated, extremely secure and easy-to-deploy solution. Its customers include such market leaders as Marriott International, Inc., Verizon Communications, Inc., Inmarsat, AVTOTOR, Russian Space Agency, as well as small to midsized firms.

For more information, please visit IceWarp (www.icewarp.com) or follow us on Twitter (@icewarp).