TOKYO, Aug. 28, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Internet Initiative Japan, Inc. (IIJ) (Nasdaq:IIJI) (TSE1: 3774), one of Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions providers, today announced the release of its developed mail filtering software for implementing SPF/Sender ID(1) sender authentication technology on mail systems. To facilitate the adoption of effective sender authentication as a means of blocking spam with spoofed sender addresses, the open source software is being offered free of charge to companies, ISPs and individuals. IIJ is working with Internet Association Japan (IAjapan) on this release, and the software can be obtained from the following web site.
+ Host site
- http://sourceforge.net/projects/enma/
+ Downloads
- SPF/Sender ID authentication library
- A Sendmail/Postfix mail-filtering software that uses the above
library
Sender authentication requires that both mail senders and receivers take measures, and with SPF/Sender ID in particular, implementation is easy for the sender, which accounts for the rapid spread of this technology on the sender side. However, the receiver requires a separate mail filtering software that makes it harder to implement, and this has put a damper on its popularity. The mail filtering software available today consist of either open source software which are unstable, or commercial software that comes at a price, both of which have had a negative effect on corporate and ISP adoption of SPF/Sender ID.
IIJ's software was designed and developed entirely by IIJ and is a high-quality mail filtering software that operates stably even in IIJ's harsh commercial services environment. By offering this software free of charge as open source, IIJ seeks to overcome these problems and contribute to the widespread adoption of SPF/Sender ID on the receiving end. IIJ has partnered with IAjapan to provide support and documentation to help this software gain wider acceptance, from corporations to Internet service providers.
IIJ started piloting sender authentication on its internal network in 2005, and was an early tester and evaluator of sender authentication. In 2006, IIJ applied its developed mail filtering software to the IIJ4U service for individual users, and began to offer filtering capabilities based on SPF authentication results. On its corporate mail security gateway service, IIJ Secure MX Service, IIJ introduced the capability of adding the results of SPF and DKIM2 authentication. IIJ intends to make a public release of a DKIM-compatible mail filtering software and continually improve and upgrade the functionality of this software to meet corporate and ISP specifications, thus further contributing to the wide-spread adoption of sender authentication.
On the occasion of this release, IAjapan released the following statement.
Internet Association Japan established the Unsolicited E-mail Measure Committee in 2004, and we have done all we can to promote anti-spam technology and improve the legislative environment. IIJ's announcement of the release of its free mail filtering software will be a great boost to the deployment of the technical solutions. And it is highly appreciated that IIJ takes an open source approach to this release. In its future developments, we hope that many players will join IIJ and IAjapan to achieve global acceptance of sender authentication technology, which means not only within Japan but also internationally.
Toru Takahashi Vice Chairman, Internet Association Japan
IIJ will continue to pursue research and development of new technology to build a safer, more secure messaging environment.
1. SPF/ Sender ID:
An IP-address-based sender authentication technology. This
system validates the originating domain of email by retrieving
valid outgoing mail server information stored in the DNS entry
for the originating domain, and checking for the existence of
the most recent IP address for outgoing mail servers. SPF
(Sender Policy Framework) is the creation of Meng Wong, founder
of U.S.-based Pobox.com, while Sender ID is a combination of
U.S.-based Microsoft's Caller ID for Email and SPF.
2. DKIM:
An electronic signature-based sender authentication technology.
Email senders add an electronic signature to their messages, and
the email recipient references this signature to determine the
validity of an email. It is the result of merging the
specifications for Cisco Systems' IIM (Identified Internet Mail)
and Yahoo!'s DomainKeys.
About IIJ
Founded in 1992, Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ) (Nasdaq:IIJI) (Tokyo Stock Exchange TSE1: 3774) is one of Japan's leading Internet-access and comprehensive network solutions providers. IIJ and its group of companies provide total network solutions that mainly cater to high-end corporate customers. The company's services include high-quality systems integration and security services, Internet access, hosting/housing, and content design. Moreover, the company has built one of the largest Internet backbone networks in Japan, and between Japan and the United States. IIJ was listed on NASDAQ in 1999 and on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2006. For more information about IIJ, visit the IIJ Web site at http://www.iij.ad.jp/en/.
The Internet Initiative Japan Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4613
The statements within this release contain forward-looking statements about our future plans that involve risk and uncertainty. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents furnished by Internet Initiative Japan Inc. with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on Forms 20-F and 6-K, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.