Brightmail, Inc. Discloses Key Data that Exposes the State of Spam; Findings Illustrate Need; Will Drive Content at Spam Summit 2000.

Business/Technology Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 2000

Brightmail, Inc., the first and only company to offer a comprehensive solution to eliminate unsolicited bulk email (spam) for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), corporations and individuals, today released new findings from the Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center(tm) (BLOC(tm)). The BLOC, the largest organization in the world dedicated to analyzing and fighting spam, collected data over the past 12 months that documents that the fastest growing category of spam is "miscellaneous," illustrating that spam is continually evolving and spammers' techniques are constantly mutating and becoming more difficult to detect. Issues surrounding the continuing growth and evolution of spam will be the focal point of the upcoming Spam Summit 2000, hosted by Brightmail, Inc. and sponsored by AT&T WorldNet(R) Service and Software.com, Inc.

"Spam violates privacy, brings down Internet servers and effects millions of consumers and business users every day," said Sunil Paul, founder and chairman of Brightmail, Inc. "Spam Summit 2000 will provide the opportunity to work together to develop a cohesive strategy for fighting spam."

Spam Summit 2000, to be held May 4 -5, 2000 in Washington, D.C., is an invitation-only conference for executives and IT professionals that will focus on the technical, economic, legal and political implications of spam, email abuse, and consumer privacy.

"Cyberspace has its own constitution which is changing and evolving at a rapid pace" said Lawrence Lessig, cyberlaw expert and a keynote speaker at the Summit, "The Summit gathering provides a rare opportunity to discuss ideas and propose strategies for the future.

Interactive sessions and panels at Spam Summit 2000 will focus on key impact areas including:

-   Policies and legal approaches to spam and privacy control at
    federal, state and local levels; international efforts to control
    spam

-   The latest tools and technologies to combat spam and other email
    abuse

-   Email marketing ethics

    The Summit's sessions and panels will be led by a number of
industry luminaries including:

-   Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School professor, cyberlaw pioneer
    and author of "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace"

-   Jason Catlett, president, Junkbusters

-   Deirdre Mulligan, staff counsel, Center for Democracy and
    Technology

-   Eric Allman, founder and CTO, Sendmail

-   Richard A. White, attorney, former U.S. congressman, founder of
    the Internet Congressional Caucus and chief architect of the
    Internet Tax Freedom Act

-   Simson Garfinkel, ISP owner, journalist and author of "Stopping
    Spam" and "Database Nation"

-   Rosalind Resnick, chairman and CEO, NetCreations

-   Nick Nicholas, executive director, Mail Abuse Prevention System
    (MAPS)

-   Ray Everett-Church, legal counsel, Coalition Against Unsolicited
    Commercial Email (CAUCE) and chief privacy officer and vice
    president, public policy, AllAdvantage

BLOC Results Unveil Hard Facts

The recent data released by Brightmail indicate that the volume of spam is growing at a substantial rate. In 1999, the number of messages received by the Brightmail Probe Network(tm) -- an extensive array of email accounts that represent a network of over 35 million Internet email addresses used to detect newly launched spam and deliver it to the BLOC for analysis -- tripled and the BLOC identified over 815,000 unique spam attacks. The average amount of spam received per email account rose from 0.8 messages per day in January to 4.4 by year's end. Spam attacks are increasing at an alarming rate as exemplified in February 2000 when the BLOC received 2.1 million spam email messages, an average of 70,000 per day.

"This latest data from BLOC illustrates the severity and complexity of the spam problem, and reinforces the need for input from both the technology and policy sectors," Paul added.

The BLOC data also indicated that what is often cited as the most disruptive and offensive spam, that which contains adult content, makes up only a small percentage of the overall volume. BLOC findings showed that in 1999 only 11 percent of spam contained adult material; 40 percent was product-related spam, 25 percent was related to financial services, and 10 percent was spiritual, personal or political in nature.

Some of the most surprising data released relates to the category of "miscellaneous" spam -- the 15 percent that does not match existing categories or crosses over too many categories to be grouped within any one classification. By far the fastest growing category of spam, it is here that BLOC identifies evolving spammer trends and new types of spam. One example of the evolution of spam is demonstrated by the sharp increases in spam from specific geographic areas worldwide, originating during and after newsworthy events.

About Brightmail, Inc.

Brightmail, Inc. develops advanced email services and software to enhance the quality and utility of email. Its initial product, the Brightmail Anti-Spam Service, fights unsolicited commercial email, otherwise known as spam, which is one of the greatest obstacles to the continued evolution of the Internet and e-business. Brightmail has formed technology and distribution partnerships with email system providers Netscape, Sendmail and Software.com. Other partners include EarthLink, Excite, FastNet, Juno Online Services, UP.net and USA.NET. More information about Brightmail's products and services can be found at http://www.brightmail.com.

Brightmail, Probe Network, Spam Wall, Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center, and BLOC are registered trademarks of Brightmail, Inc. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.