OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC and Access Communications worked together this summer to shut off a deluge of spam messages that were unknowingly being sent from a server owned by a Saskatchewan-based computer reseller.
The Commission got involved after the Spam Reporting Centre received reports of spam messages routed through Access Communications. During its investigation, it was discovered that the spam messages were actually coming from a small business’s server, which used Access Communications as its ISP. This business’s server had become infected with malware, which had caused it to join the botnet ‘Ebury’.
According to spamrankings.net, the Autonomous Systems (AS21804) for Access Communications, which includes the small business in question, topped the charts for spam activity in Canada in June and July 2014, peaking at approximately 24 million emails sent in June and 73 million in July. After notification from the CRTC and the action taken by the small business and Access, the activity dropped down to the 36th spot on the spamrankings.net list. The Spam Reporting Centre also stopped receiving spam reports regarding this matter.
“We have a number of tools at our disposal to protect Canadians from online threats such as spam. This investigation illustrates how we can tailor our enforcement actions to the situation at hand”, said CRTC chief compliance and enforcement officer Manon Bombardier, in a statement. “By working together, we were able to stop this malicious spam from continuing to be sent to Canadians. We are committed to collaborating with Canadian businesses, large and small, to ensure they comply with the rules and we will continue to alert them when we suspect that their servers have become compromised.”
The CRTC added that a number of investigations are currently underway, via its assessment of all complaints submitted to the Spam Reporting Centre that fall under its mandate. The Commission can discuss corrective actions with individuals, firms or organizations, which may lead to a settlement that includes an administrative monetary penalty and other corrective measures. As part of its investigative powers, the CRTC can also issue warnings, preservation demands, warrants, citations and notices of violation.
