SPIT: The Next Generation of SPAM

SPIT means Spam over Internet Telephony. It is expected to be the next move of Spammers who have already made the jump from email to instant messaging. As hundreds of thousands of users switch from traditional telephone service to VoIP internet calling, Spammers may see a new opportunity to target a critical mass. SPIT is essentially the equivalent of telemarketing, except that a single “caller” will be able to send out a thousand messages per minute to VoIP voice mailboxes. Even as technology IP giants battle it out over setting standards to block email Spam and Congress continues to contemplate legislation banning email Spam, the United States Telecommunications Association has described SPIT as the top security challenge ahead for the telephone industry. Before SPIT hits VoIP users in full force, Qovia Inc. has developed technologies to counter it.

VoIP is Voice over Internet Protocol, or Internet based telephony. Currently, most users of VoIP are businesses and enterprises, with only about 130,000 residential users. Analysts predict that by 2008 more than 17.5 million households will have made the move to VoIP, creating an attractive target group for Spitters. The competition to manufacture and sell VoIP equipment includes SBC communications, AT & T and Cisco. Meanwhile, large corporations like Boeing, Best Buy, Ford and Bank of America are moving to the technology.

Everyone seems to agree that SPIT must be stopped before it starts, and Qovia Inc. is the first company to come forward with a solution. Qovia announced yesterday that it has filed a patent application on the technology entitled, “System and Method for Broadcasting VoIP Messages.” The technology is claimed to be capable of identifying unsolicited and unwanted messages and differentiating these messages from those that recipients desire to receive. The technology will be available latter this year as part of the companies VoIP Monitoring and Management System (VMMS). Qovia Inc. is a privately held technology company, based in Maryland, that specializes in developing software to manage and monitor VoIP. Investors including Canaan Venture Partners and Nokia Venture Partners seem to think the company has a bright and profitable future.