New M3AAWG Hosting Service Providers Best Practices Backed by i2C Aim to Reduce End-User Threats

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 17, 2015) - Spamvertising, malware and other online threats could be significantly reduced by hosting companies following the necessary hygiene and security processes outlined in the new M3AAWG Anti-Abuse Best Common Practices for Hosting and Cloud Service Providers released today. Jointly published by the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2C) and the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group, the new document outlines proven activities that can help Web hosting services improve their operations and better protect end-users.

The new best practices describe how to identify customers that are spammers or criminals, policies to prevent abuse, and processes to remediate known threats for the hosting, DNS and domain registration provider communities. Implementing these recommendations can help hosting companies establish a stable operating environment and minimize additional customer support costs resulting from network operators frequently blocking the service for abusive activities, according to Michael Adkins, M³AAWG Chairman of the Board.

"We took on this work at M³AAWG because of the pivotal role hosting companies play in the ecosystem. The same services that maintain domains and websites for legitimate customers are also needed by spammers, phishers and other miscreants to carry out their clandestine activities that defraud end-users, clog inboxes with junk mail or steal personal identity information. These best practices detail the current policies and technologies used by successful hosting and cloud service providers to weed out criminals and fix other common problems caused by well-intentioned but problematic customers that pose a threat to end users everywhere," Adkins said.

The M³AAWG Anti-Abuse Best Common Practices for Hosting and Cloud Service Providers are intended for the technical staff at both large organizations and smaller start-up hosting companies. The document was developed by industry professionals who face these challenges every day and outlines reasonable steps that can be integrated into a company's basic operations and policies, as explained in the video Improving Your Business with the M3AAWG Anti-Abuse Best Common Practices for Hosting and Cloud Service Providers at www.youtube.com/maawg.