Security Vendors That Spam

Every time a security vendor sends spam, an angel's wings get clipped.When I was sitting down to blog this, I was considering whether I needed to introduce the subject of spam and why it's bad. Did I need to discuss how spam violates personal rights? How about the burden placed on the email infrastructure and our own personal inboxes? Perhaps I should only mention how spam sells unsafe products, such as fake medicine?

Or maybe I should discuss how spam is dangerous -- how it's a main contributor to security breaches worldwide, and how economically it facilitates cybercrime -- from botnets to phishing to child pornography.

Or perhaps all I should say is this: Spam is illegal.

No matter what type of spam, spam is bad. It is not marketing, and security vendors should know this. But every other week, I get an unsolicited advertisement from a security vendor trying to push a product or seminar. "That's one product I am never going to buy," I think to myself. If they spam, they can't really be security experts, can they?

Then to top it all off, they offer me a "safe unsubscribe" link. I never opted in. I never subscribed. Why should I unsubscribe?

If security vendors send you spam, they are not security experts. They do not understand security, and worse -- they are abusing you. So don't buy products from them.

Follow Gadi Evron on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gadievron

Gadi Evron is an independent security strategist based in Israel. Special to Dark Reading.