The honeypot strategy that internet firm Blue Security is planning to employ with its Blue Frog technology is "questionably legal, and completely unethical," according to Anne Mitchell, CEO of the Institute for Spam and Internet Policy. She pooh-poohs the idea that the company can prevent DOS attacks for "good" companies unwittingly caught in Blue Frog's honey trap by having human checkers to review antispam attacks. "Either they're not going to automate it, in which case it's never going to grow, or they are going to automate it, in which case it's going to start making mistakes," she says. How did this business plan even scoot through the gut check at company strategy meetings? No one knows. "'How the heck he got funding for this is a mystery to me," Mitchell wonders.
Well, it's not clear that Benchmark Capital, the VC firm who gave Blue Security $4 million, knew about the Blue Frog product when they funded the company. The company has plenty of products, and Blue Frog is still in beta. My verdict's still out - I have determined, however, that the logo is devilishly cute.
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Was it unethical to fight Hitler? I think you can draw the parallel. Blue Security warns the companies to stop spamming us before the campain starts. To say it is "completely unethical" is absurd.
Is it illegal to complain? Is it illegal to have automation? Is it illegal to organize? No,no, and no.
Give it a chance. The laws that were made have proven to be a joke and you have someone stand up and you put them down. Give it a chance.
Posted at 4:51AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Gary