Network Abuse

Many years ago, back when huge levels of spam involved hundreds of thousands of emails, there was a group of people who spent a lot of time talking about what to do about abuse. One of the distinctions we made was abuse of the net as opposed to abuse on the net. We were looking at abuse of the network, that is activity that made the internet less useable. At the time abuse of the network was primarily spam; sure, there were worms and some malicious traffic, but we were focused on email abuse.
In the last 20 years, multiple industries have arisen around network abuse. I’m sitting at a conference with hundreds of people discussing how to address and mitigate abuse online. In the context of the early discussions, we’re mostly focused on abuse of the network, not abuse on the network.
But abuse on the network is an issue. It’s a growing issue, IMO. The internet has contributed to the rise and normalization of the alt-right. Social media is a medium used for abuse on the net. Incidents range from bullying of school kids to harassment of celebrities to sharing of child abuse material. All of these things are abuse on the net. They are an issue. They need to be addressed.
Today M3AAWG gave the 2017 Mary Litynski Award to Mick Moran from Interpol for his work in fighting child exploitation and abuse on the net. As I tweeted during the session, I have a phenomenal amount of respect for Mick and people like him who work tirelessly to protect children online. I don’t talk much about child abuse materials*, but I know the problem is there and it’s bad.

One of the discussions I’ve had with some folks lately is how we can better fight abuse on the net. Many of the tools we’ve built over the years are focused on volume – more complaints mean a more serious incident. But in the case of abuse on the net, or who is wrong. volume isn’t really an issue. It’s a hard problem to solve. It’s easy to create a system that lets the good guys get information, but it’s hard to create a system that also keeps the bad guys out and prevents gaming and is effective and values single complaints of problems.
Folks like Mick, and the abuse teams at ISPs all over the world, are integral to finding and rescuing abused and exploited children. Their work is so important, and most people have no idea they exist. On top of that, the work is emotionally difficult. Some of my friends work in that space, dealing with child abuse materials, and all of them have the untold story of the one that haunts them. They don’t talk about it, but you can see it in their eyes and faces.
We can do better. We should do better. We must do better.
 
*Note: Throughout this post I use the term “child abuse materials” to describe what is commonly called child pornography. This is because porn isn’t necessarily bad nor abusive and the term child porn minimizes the issue. It’s important to make it clear that children are abused, sometimes for years, in order to make this material. 

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Another M3AAWG on the books

Another M3AAWG is over. It was great to see old friends, some of whom I’ve known for more than a decade. It was even better to meet new people who I’m sure will become old friends. The conference has grown so much bigger than my first MAAWG back in San Diego (MAAWG 3 in 2005). That was maybe a hundred people. Today M3AAWG has more members companies than were at the original conference.
I’m still processing all the information from the conference. I learned a lot of new things. I had some of my knowledge confirmed. I’ve had some of my beliefs challenged.
It’s always great to see everyone. And thank you for everyone who went out of your way to tell me you read the blog. It’s great to know that I’ve made some of you think and helped you learn and given you backup when you need to talk to bosses or customers.
Regular blogging resumes tomorrow.
Sláinte
 
 

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M3AAWG in Philly This Week

Today marks the training day for M3AAWG 37 in Philly. With all the traveling and speaking I’ve been doing lately we’re not going to be there. So no tweeting from me about the conference.
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We’ve been attending various M3AAWG meetings since way early on – 2004? 2005? in San Diego. The organization has grown and matured and really come a long way since the early days. One of the challenges of M3AAWG is that it is a true working group. This isn’t like the various conferences I’ve been attending recently. I think there are two things that makes M3AAWG different from other conferences.
One of the most obvious things is the lack of a vendor floor. Sure, there are vendors and sponsors but vendors don’t bring in displays and have sales people stand around them to talk to folks. The conference does have demos and negotiations and meetings, but done differently than other events.
The other difference I’ve noticed is that M3AAWG is much more about participation. As the name says, this is a working group. Everyone is encouraged to get involved in things they’re interested in or that they think they can contribute to. Other conferences are a lot more about information being shared by speakers and panels. But during M3AAWG conferences, there are 2 mornings devoted to round tables.
The round tables are a true community effort, and probably deserve some discussion for people who’ve never been to the conference. Before the conference, members of the community submit ideas for things they think M3AAWG should discuss. These suggestions are reviewed by the board and leadership and ones that fall within M3AAWG’s purview are taken to the conference.
The first day of roundtables each topic is discussed in small groups. Volunteers facilitate a 20 – 30 minute discussion on the topic at hand with attendees. After time is called, attendees go to another topic and discuss that one. Part of what is discussed is not just the issue (say, how to get off a blacklist) but also what the final work product looks like. Is this a document for M3AAWG members? A panel at a future conference? A public document?
The second day is refinement of the roundtable topics and commitment from people to move the project forward. Champion is the person who is project managing this. Other roles depend on the work product. For presentation or panels, there is one set of roles. For documents there are roles as writers and editors and contributor.
M3AAWG has written and produced some useful resources and information over the years. Many of those resources are public, like best practice documents and metric reports. Other docs and reports are specifically for members.
The working group part of M3AAWG in one of its real strengths. Experts on all sides of the business of email get together to keep email useable and workable. Early on it there were a few barriers and some suspicion about various participant groups. But, as the industry as grown things have changed. Many folks have moved from ISPs to ESPs and back. There’s also a bigger place for companies that provide services to ESPs and ISPs, like us here at Word to the Wise. We’ve built bridges and technology and have been a positive force on the world.
 

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Random thoughts on reporting abuse

stop_atOn IRC today, someone mentioned an Ars Technica article discussing how a research team tried to contact Xfinity about a security flaw in their home security system.

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