Research Center
Published Papers
Real-World Testing of Email Anti-Virus Solutions
Published by Virus Bulletin Magazine, March 2007
Dr. Adam O'Donnell
Abstract
In order to bypass the latest versions of security products, spammers and virus writers are constantly developing new evasion techniques. As a result, testing how effective a given security product is at stopping new attacks becomes a challenge. Traditional testing methodologies rely on corpus testing of known attacks, a technique that fails to measure vendor response time to new attacks. In this Virus Bulletin™ article, we describe how the testing methodologies origionally developed by Cloudmark for evaluation of anti-spam products can be extended to cover anti-virus products.
The Evolutionary Microcosm of Stock Spam
Published by IEEE Security & Privacy
Dr. Adam O'Donnell
Abstract
The most rapidly growing spam category, stock spam, is a modern twist of the classic "pump and dump" securities scam in which unscrupulous characters manipulate a security's price by using various advertising techniques to create artificial demand for it, thus inflating price. By targeting thinly traded securities on unregulated markets, stock spammers can almost guarantee a flash mob attracted by the spam will increase the per share price. This paper discusses the techniques that stock spammers use to evade spam filters and the countermeasures that sophisticated anti-spam solutions deploy to stop them.