The Register -- Microsoft has targeted spammers with a lawsuit aimed at bulk mailers who harvest email addresses of Hotmail subscribers in order to bombard them with junk.

In the suit, Microsoft alleges that unnamed bulk mailers used tools to randomly generate email addresses prior to testing this list out to see which accounts were active. Essentially this is a form of dictionary attack, which Microsoft argues violates federal laws including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Trespass is also involved in the attacks, the software giant argues.

Success in getting the suit through would strengthen Microsoft's hand if it came to sue particular spammers for using this type of attack in the future.  more...

For once its nice to see Microsoft suing someone.

20 February 2003  |   permalink