Dictionary attack spam hits small business hard - case study

One such company, internet marketing firm Alphaquad, has had to find a way around the new spam threat, known as a dictionary attack.

During a dictionary attack, a single domain is bombarded with emails using a huge number of names as potential email addresses, so that hopefully at least one or two will reach genuine addresses.

Alphaquad approached the problem using a managed service approach, which has taken away the burden of dictionary attacks.

"Unfortunately, situations such as those experienced by Alphaquad are becoming increasingly common," said Neil Hammerton, CEO of Email Systems, who provided the managed service. "Denial of Service attacks of many types are no longer simply targeted at large corporate entities - it's become a menace that threatens organisations of all sizes and not just corporate entities – public sector bodies such as schools are also under attack."

"Unlike security software, the managed service approach actually blocks unwanted email before it reaches the network, protects the corporate inbox, ensuring that it can be effectively used for its intended purpose," he added.

In January SC reported small companies often bare the brunt of dictionary attacks.

www.emailsystems.com