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PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Government Agencies and Internet Retailers Receive Failing
Grade in
Preventing Deceptive Email and Phishing Scams
Research confirms 56% of .gov and 45%of
eCommerce sites not taking appropriate security measures
SEATTLE, WA – April 14, 2009
– The
Online Trust Alliance (OTA) today gave
leading government agencies and online retailers a failing grade in
preventing deceptive email and phishing scams based on its newly released
analysis of email authentication adoption. OTA found approximately 56
percent of the top .gov sites – including Whitehouse.gov, Senate.gov,
FBI.gov, Treasury.gov and DHS.gov – are not protecting U.S. citizens through
the use of email authentication. The organization also found that among the
Internet Retailer 300, 45 percent of these top eCommerce sites have not
adopted email authentication – leaving brands, domains, and most importantly
consumers exposed to security and privacy threats. Top brands failing
include Sears, Victoria’s Secret, the Gap and Nordstrom.
OTA will also release similar
data on Fortune 500 email authentication adoption at the upcoming OTA Online
Trust Town Hall Meeting on April 23 in San Francisco. At the forum, OTA will
present best practices including data governance, privacy and behavioral
targeting with the goal of increasing the adoption of best practices to
protect consumers.
Many of the organizations and businesses that have
failed to use some form of these email authentication standards include
SPF/Sender ID or DomainKeys Identified Email (DKIM) have become victims of
forged email and online exploits. Email authentication has been widely
heralded as a best practice to help curb deceptive email and phishing
exploits, which are some of the leading tactics for identity theft.
“It is
incomprehensible that in this period of escalating online scams and
diminishing consumer confidence these agencies and businesses continue to
sit on the sidelines,” said Craig Spiezle, OTA Chairman and Founder.
“Best practices not only need to be adopted by business, but also by
governmental agencies. OTA members reiterate their willingness to
provide resources and assistance to these organizations”.
With the
tax deadline tomorrow, OTA recognizes the US Internal Revenue Service
(irs.gov) for their adoption of best practices and commitment to curb online
abuse. Recognizing the increasing levels of phishing and scams
targeting US citizens, the IRS adopted many best practices including
Extended Validation SSL certificates,
email authentication, and other security and privacy protection measures.
OTA will release a list of recommended best practices
for online behavior and email authentication at the upcoming OTA Email
Authentication Workshop and Online Trust Town Hall Meeting, both of which
are being held on April 23rd at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
The email authentication workshop will be a roundtable
discussion of email authentication adoption at the corporate domain level,
by ISPs and by domain hosts. The town hall meeting will highlight safe,
secure and strategic ways companies can conduct business online while
enhancing consumer trust. Town Hall speakers include executives from
or formerly with Facebook, PayPal, Bank of America, Microsoft, Publishers
Clearing House, American Greetings, the White House, the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC), and the Center for Democracy & Technology. To
register for the email workshop of Town Hall, visit
https://otalliance.org/InternetTownHall.html
Methodology – Analysis was completed during the period of April 3 and April
13, 2009, based on examining the public DNS records of the brands and
governmental agencies, as well as examining over 20 million emails sent to
consumers purporting to come from the legitimate brand and domain. Data was
provided in part by Microsoft Corporation, IronPort Systems, MX Logic and
Return Path Inc. Ranking of ecommerce brands is based on data
published by the
Internet Retailer. Criteria
for top U.S. government sites includes one or more of the following; past
incidence of spoofing and phishing, site traffic, and risk of potential
exploit for financial data and/or disseminating misleading consumer
information.
OTA Email Authentication
Resources
https://otalliance.org/resources/authentication/index.html
About The Online
Trust Alliance (AOTA)
https://www.aotalliance.org/
The mission of OTA is to create a trusted global
online ecosystem and foster the elimination of email and Internet fraud,
abuse and cybercrime; thereby enhancing trust, confidence and the protection
of businesses and consumers. Through its member companies and organization
affiliates, OTA represents over one million businesses and 500 million users
worldwide with regional chapters in Asia Pacific, Canada and Europe. OTA is
a 501c6 IRS-approved non-profit, governed by a Board and Steering Committee
including Bank of America, BoxSentry, Datran Media, Epsilon, Goodmail
Systems, Iconix, Internet Identity, IronPort (a division of Cisco Systems),
MarkMonitor, Message Systems, Microsoft Corporation, MX Logic, Return Path,
Symantec Corporation and VeriSign.
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