[Bp_spam] Call for input, phase one.

Fri Jun 26 10:37:11 EDT 2015

Dear all,
Below you find the so called "placeholder document". All is explained in the text below. Please fill in where you would like to participate in and what part of the document you would like to make yourself responsible for. On the basis of this work content is to be compiled over the coming two weeks.
Looking forward to your participation and input.
Best regards,
Wout de Natris

Best Practice Forum on the Regulation
and Mitigation of Unsolicited Communications (2015)

In 2014 this Best Practice Forum (BPF)
carried out extensive work that identified 16 challenges and 11 recommendations
for future work, that were presented in the Internet Governance Forum’s
secretariat’s report, published on its website in 2014. In 2015 the
Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) decided that the BPF should continue its work,
based on the identified challenges and recommendations. In the past months, the
Forum has discussed how it can continue this work in meaningful and additional
ways. This has led to two main, overarching streams from which a number of
recommendations will emerge. 

1) Statistical and numerical data scaling
the problem;

2) The future of unsolicited communications.
The next billion coming on line: Challenges for the developing world and
recommendations on how these might be addressed.

For the purpose of this report, unsolicited
communications is used as a broad term that encompasses all unsolicited
electronic communications (that are carried on the internet), including, and
not limited to, messages that spread malware or have other nefarious purposes,
that are distributed through the use of ‘bots’[1].

Introducing
the placeholder concept

The experts call on you to volunteer and
become, individually or together with another organization or person, a
placeholder for a specific part of this compiling document, working towards the
first draft report. Below you can fill in your name and affiliation in those
part(s) of the document you would like to contribute to and make yourself responsible for. 

Defining
the Problem:  Spam is a Global Issue

Over the last 25 years, the internet has
become a critical tool for business, governments and individuals in many
economies.  It has provided opportunities
beyond those ever envisaged, but with this has also come a series of risks and
lessons.  All too often, in haste,
economies have ‘turned on the broadband tap’ without understanding the risks or
the measures that are necessary to protect their precious infrastructure and
citizens.  With this in mind, it is
critical that economies that are newly coming online both understand the scale
of the problem and learn the lessons that others have learnt the hard way.

What
do the statistics say?

While it is widely recognised that spam is
a Global issue, there is no single data-set that quantifies the scale of its
problem and its cost on economies – both industry and Government, thus making
it difficult for the uninitiated to recognize the risks that they may be
taking. To this end, this BPF has sought data that is rigorous, reliable and
not influenced by external factors such as commercial requirements

  Topic

  Name

  organisation

  Statistics regarding scale, ie how much spam and
  malware infiltration, attacks etc. and discussion/analysis of this

  Costs of mitigating unsolicited communication to Industry
  and the discussion and analysis of this

  Costs to Government and discussion and analysis of
  this

Who
are the next billion to come online?

  Topic

  Name

  Organisation

  Identification of the developing economies where the
  next billion online will most likely come from

  A possible case-study (preferably two) of an economy
  who turned broadband on and then had to deal with issues – what did they do
  etc

Multi-stakeholder
partnerships – some case studies

  Topic

  Name

  Organisation

  Recently established new forms of multistakeholder cooperation in
  the fight against unsolicited communications

  Foreseen new forms of multistakeholder cooperation in the fight
  against unsolicited communications

  New forms of multistakeholder cooperation in the fight against
  unsolicited communications that ought to be created

  One or more case-studies on multistakeholder partnerships that
  work

Challenges
for the next billion

While there is no doubt that there is a lot
for developing economies to learn from those who have already been online for
some time, threats delivered using unsolicited communications are constantly
evolving.  This is not only as a
consequence of technology advances (particularly in relation to the number,
availability and type of internet-enabled devices) but because online threats,
particularly those delivered by way of unsolicited communications, have become
increasingly sophisticated.

  Topic

  Name

  Organisation

  A case-study on the use of mobile devices for
  internet access in a particular economy

  An introduction to the discussion of the Internet of
  Devices and the potential implications for unsolicited communications

Tools
available to developing economies

  Topic

  Name

  Organisation

  ‘Literature review’ of available written products;
  and review of available training products

  Case-study LAP/MAAWG Best Practice document

The
role of Government

  Topic

  Name

  Organisation

  A discussion of potential role(s) of Government;
  consumer education, developing an understanding of the problem and what the
  developed world can do for the developing world; describe potential
  case-studies

  A discussion and analysis of anti-spam laws, including
  a discussion of what works and how much regulatory regimes cost

  A discussion of other emerging initiatives, the role
  of industry and DMAs

Conclusions
and Recommendations

It is envisaged that the BPF will resolve
that sustained funding and commitment from Industry and Government is required
as the ‘next billion come on line’.  To
that end, it might be recommended that this funding and commitment should be
deployed to allow for:

·        
The delivery of training, using
and building on existing resources – for both industry and Government;

·        
Ongoing consumer education and
initiatives;

·        
The introduction of regulation
that is fit for purpose, with appropriately resourced enforcement capacity. 

[1] “An Internet bot is a software application that runs automated
tasks over the Internet”. When put to malicious use bots become associated with
e.g. spam, zombie computers and cyber crime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_bot#Malicious_purposes
(accessed, 26 July 2015).

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