Email Authentication On a Roll as Email Authentication Summit II Nears
April 10, 2006
Nearly a year after a very successful inaugural event, the Email Authentication Summit II will convene this April reflecting on a year of growth in the adoption of email authentication standards by the world's leading Internet service providers, email service providers and business organizations. This year's summit, under the theme "Summit II - Authentication & Reputation - Building Online Confidence," will be held Wednesday April 19, 2006, at the Chicago Hilton.
The authentication landscape has changed immensely over the past year as an increasing numbers of ISPs, marketing organizations and leading businesses worldwide are now supporting authentication. In less than 12 months, adoption has increased over 60 percent and more than 35 percent of all mail sent is now authenticated. Driving the movement are industry leaders that are on the forefront of the war on spam and fraudulent email, leaders whose efforts include important educational efforts aimed at helping empower organizations to protect themselves through events such as the Email Authentication Summit II.
"It's been a great year for authentication as we're seeing strong adoption from both senders and ISPs," said Craig Spiezle, chair of the event and director of the Technology Care and Safety Group at Microsoft Corp. "Authentication is a win-win situation for everyone. ESPs are seeing how this technology can help increase deliverability of legitimate email. Marketers are using it to help protect their brands and restore a trusted relationship with their customers, and ISPs are taking advantage of authentication to help protect their members from fraudulent email and spam. I'm encouraged by this growth and the industry's commitment to improving online trust and user confidence."
Event Backers Making a Real Difference in Stopping Spam and Fraudulent Email
The Summit is being organized and underwritten by the Email Authentication Summit steering committee which includes AOL, the Anti-Phishing Working Group, Cisco Systems Inc., Digital Impact Inc., the Direct Marketing Association, the Email Sender and Provider Coalition, Epsilon Interactive, Goodmail Systems, Habeas Inc., IronPort Systems, Microsoft Corp., Return Path Inc., SKYLIST Inc., StrongMail Systems Inc. and Symantec Corp.
The event brings together industry and business, with a focus on case studies and real world deployment. Key industry speakers include Dave Anderson, chairman of the board, Sendmail; Ken Schneider, chief architect, network and gateway security solutions, Symantec Corp.; Sanjay Pol, vice president, new business ventures, messaging security, Cisco Systems Inc.; and Brian Arbogast, corporate vice president, MSN Communications Platform, MSN and Personal Services Division, Microsoft Corp.
The Summit also brings together a broad range of thought leaders representing the business and marketing community including Dave Jevans, chairman of APWG; Laura Mather, director of fraud prevention, eBay; Trevor Hughes, executive director of the ESPC; Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president of government affairs, the DMA; and Michael Zaneis, director for congressional and public affairs, US Chamber of Commerce.
Supporting all current authentication standards, including DomainKeys Identified Mail and the Sender ID Framework, the Summit is designed for marketers, IT professionals and business decision makers who are looking to reduce spam from hitting their networks, improve deliverability and confidence in email, protect users from phishing exploits and protect their domains and brands from online exploits. With user confidence being tarnished by spam, phishing and ID theft, this event provides an opportunity to help ensure the viability of the Internet and secure messaging.
The event will take place at the Chicago Hilton, 720 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Accredited press may register free of charge online. Please visit www.emailauthentication.org/summit2006 to register for the conference or for additional information.
Quotes from the Authentication Summit II Steering Committee members:
"Email authentication is a crucial building block in stopping the phishers and scammers from destroying the public's trust in e-commerce."
Dave Jevans Chairman, The Anti-Phishing Working Group
"By deploying DomainKeys Identified Mail, a sending domain can limit the ability of unauthorized senders to spoof their domain and, as a result, ensure better protection of their brand and increase confidence in email messages that originate from them."
Dave Rossetti VP of Strategic Software Technology, Cisco Systems
"Authentication is to email what drivers' licenses and passports are to people. It is time for legitimate email senders to take a moment to get proper identification and show the world they are trustworthy. It isn't difficult and like personal identification, it has a lot of advantages."
Gene McKenna VP Product Management, Digital Impact
"The FTC has put the ball in the industry's court. It's imperative that marketers apply authentication procedures to ensure that government imposed regulatory action isn't taken. DMA urges all industry associations and professional societies to follow its lead in requiring its members to authenticate. All marketers-for profit and non profit-must authenticate their email to secure their brand in the email channel."
Jerry Cerasale Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Direct Marketing Association
"As authentication gains broad adoption in the marketplace, it is critical that we continue to build tools that support an accountable and stable email ecosystem. Objective reputation services have now become an important component to this system - and ISPs, senders, and service providers must engage and implement. The Email Authentication Summit II will offer the best forum to learn from, and network with, the top experts in the country on authentication and reputation."
Trevor Hughes, CIPP Executive Director, Email Sender and Provider Coalition
"Through industry collaboration and persistent education efforts, thousands of marketers have implemented email authentication solutions, and we are extremely proud that the first Summit had such a tremendous impact. With Email Authentication Summit II, we are delighted that -- once again -- so many have joined us to promote the benefits of implementing these solutions."
Al DiGuido President and CEO, Epsilon Interactive
"The single biggest obstacle to commercial email's usefulness is a lack of consumer trust in the authenticity of messages. Email-based fraud cost consumers nearly $1 billion last year. But the real cost of not having a trusted class of email will be seen in the failure to gain the cost benefits of email transactions versus paper ones. Restoring trust is critical to creating a safe medium and realizing its economic advantages. The Email Authentication Summit is providing a critical forum for the industry to meet and work through these vital issues."
Richard Gingras Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Goodmail Systems, Inc.
"The adoption of email authentication is critical to help ensure email remains a trusted way to communicate, now and into the future. Sender ID is providing increased protection to hundreds of millions of users worldwide, and its ease of implementation, deployment and performance provide businesses with an effective mechanism to increase customer trust and confidence in their services. That trust is essential to the continued success of the Internet ecosystem, and Microsoft remains committed to helping companies implement and realize the business value of Sender ID."
Brian Arbogast Corporate Vice President, Live Platform Group (Platforms & Services Division), Microsoft Corp.
"Coming together to distill best practices and to educate companies on authentication has made adoption easier, aiding the first step in helping email receivers vet incoming mail. Now, as we expand the focus to include reputation, this Summit will undoubtedly help get senders on the same page about what is necessary to achieve deliverability.
George Bilbrey VP & GM Delivery Assurance Solutions, Return Path
"SKYLIST recognized early on that authentication is a key tool for fighting spam and viruses while helping to ensure the delivery of legitimate email. The days of senders and receivers fighting like cats and dogs is over -- we realize now that we're all in this together and that many of the ISPs are the biggest senders and receivers at the same time. If we want to continue to see a reduction in spam and increase in deliverability we must present a united front and encourage rapid, industry-wide adoption of authentication."
Joshua Baer CEO and Founder, SKYLIST Inc.
"With sender accountability looming large in our future, companies that don't embrace email authentication and best practices are truly tempting fate. They're putting their results, reputations and relationships with customers at risk."
Dave Lewis VP, Alliances & Market Development, StrongMail Systems, Inc.
NOTE: The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
