At the Anti-Abuse Working Group 21st General Meeting in Orlando, Florirda last Feb. 23, EastWest Institute’s Chief Technology Officer Karl Frederick Rauscher announced a joint effort between China and the United States to combat spam incursion. The paper detailing the preview was scheduled to roll out next month. And to inaugurate the upcoming convention of China and the United States commissioned by NY-based international committee EWI, ‘Fighting Spam to Build Trust’ will be discussed.

“The EastWest Institute sees this report as part of our larger effort to help overcome the trust deficit between China and the United States on cybersecurity,” said Rauscher.

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit in Washington last month ended with the joint statement addressing the two countries to act on cybersecurity. According to MAAWG, spam encompasses 90% of email traffic. Rauscher will be working closely with Yonglin Zhou, Director, Network Security Committee of the Internet Society of China in the Fighting Spam to Build Trust campaign, teaching people best practices in reducing the influx of these unwarranted emails. This cooperative effort will not end with this report,” said Zhou. “Rather, it is a part of an ongoing process between Chinese and United States experts to open dialogue and foster mutual understanding.”

China has significantly reduced their spams in the recent years to protect their growing internet-user base. The practices to be disclosed involves processes for creating international protocols aimed to differentiate legitimate messages from spam; a call for educating consumers about the risk of botnets; and measures for discouraging spam, such as encouraging ISPs in both countries to use feedback loops.

“This dialogue with China is a most welcomed breakthrough – a real step forward. It comes at an opportune time and can build on the work that has been going on at MAAWG for several years,” said Michael O’Reirdan, MAAWG Chairman and Distinguished Engineer at Comcast . MAAWG has been actively fighting against spam and online exploitation worldwide.

“The United States and China face large moral and political dilemmas in cooperating on cybersecurity. Do we continue to see each other as enemies or rivals, or do we edge slowly forward trying to find common ground? We know that the economic and personal security of our citizens depends on a quantum leap in cooperation and an end to the rapidly escalating cyber mistrust,” EWI President and Founder John E. Mroz added.

Spammers are adapting to the sophistication of the modern world. They are expanding their reach beyond Windows, targeting non-Windows platforms as well, and going beyond computers, targeting other internet enabled devices too, more notably, mobile devices. Considering the demographic of China, it’s only common-sense if they start acting on cyber threats.

Recently, a new Chinese Trojan called HongTouTou started plaguing the country’s Android units, following the footsteps of the Geinimi Trojan that previously did some rampage. US is also very serious in addressing internet security. The country has gone as far as having a new bill around it.