The cost of Spam - Update

Internal Auditor, Feb, 2003 by David Salierno

UNSOLICITED E-MAIL, commonly referred to as spam, cost U.S. and European corporations a total of $11.4 billion in 2002, according to a recent report by San Francisco-based consulting firm Ferris Research. Their study, "Spain Control: Problems and Opportunities," estimates that spain-related costs amounted to $8.9 billion for businesses in the United States and $2.5 billion in Europe, and another $500 million for U.S. and European Internet service providers (ISP).

"The cost of spam is increasing rapidly for both corporations and ISPs, mainly as a result of lost productivity, consumption of information technology resources, and help-desk support," said David Ferris, president of Ferris Research, in a recent press release. "Based on interviews of corporate messaging managers, it's clear that spam is a major problem for corporate information technology departments

According to the report, corporate users expect that the number of spam messages, as well as the average size of each message, will continue to increase, leading to even higher costs. Ferris researchers estimate that spam will cost U.S. corporations more than $10 billion in 2003, representing $14 per user per month.

The report also shows that spam is becoming a significant problem for the mobile messaging market, as well as for instant messaging applications such as those offered by America Online, Yahoo!, and Microsoft. "Spam is getting frustrating for mobile users, and subscribers to multimedia messaging services will become spam targets as operators provide connectivity with the Internet," said Ferris analyst Marten Nelson in the press release.

According to the research, spam with inappropriate message content is also a concern for business users. "Spam to instant messaging users is growing rapidly and is often in the category of adult-content," Nelson said. The study shows some corporate users expressed concern that adult content spam has the potential to create liability as a result of U.S. employment law.

For more information on "Spam Control: Problems and Opportunities," visit the Ferris Research Web site at www.ferris.com.