Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    FTC to Use DefCon Event to Strike Back Against Robocalls

    Written by

    Sean Michael Kerner
    Published August 5, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The U.S. Federal Trade Commission receives a lot of complaints from consumers about all manner of things, but among the most common complaints are ones about automated marketing calls, known as “robocalls.”

      The FTC has embarked on a number of initiatives over the years to combat the scourge of robocalls, even enlisting the support of the DefCon hacker conference community. At the DefCon 2014 event, the FTC ran a contest called “Zapping Rachel” to help build technology to detect robocalls. For this year’s event, which starts on Aug. 6 in Las Vegas, the FTC is back with a new contest called “Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back.”

      “It’s a challenge to the security community to create a solution to identify robocalls received on landlines and on mobile phones and then forward them to a honeypot,” Patty Hsue, staff attorney in the Division of Marketing Practices at the FTC, told eWEEK.

      Hsue is hopeful that the 2015 “Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back” contest will build on the success that the FTC experienced with the 2014 “Zapping Rachel” contest. That contest was a successful experience for the FTC, which is why there is a new contest this year, she said.

      Plus, the FTC wanted to get more security professionals interested in the topic of robocalls, which Hsue said did in fact happen. The FTC is active in an industry group called the Voice and Telephony Abuse Special Interest Group, which is a consortium of organizations looking at solutions for telephony abuse. Hsue said that as a result of the 2014 contest, the FTC was able to bring new organizations into the group.

      The “Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back” contest has multiple phases. In the first phase, which closed in June, contestants had to show a preliminary approach to identifying robocalls. In the second phase, which will be demonstrated at this year’s DefCon, the contestants need to seed the honeypot to get inbound robocalls. The FTC is offering a total of $50,000 in cash prizes as part of the contest.

      For the final phase of the contest, Hsue said that it’s up to the contestants to determine how they will seed their honeypots. The winner will be determined based on the number of collected robocalls, as well as how well he or she explains the techniques and the uniqueness of the overall solution.

      At the end of the contest, the winning technology will not become open-source and the FTC will not take any ownership of the technology. Hsue emphasized that the purpose of the contest is to stimulate the market and get the word out that robocall blocking technology could be useful to consumers.

      “For this particular contest the IP [intellectual property] rights will remain with the contestant,” she said. “Our hope is that the contestants will make the technology available by bringing it to market.”

      Many consumers in the U.S. today put their number on the Do Not Call Registry in an effort to limit marketing calls. Hsue said that whether or not robocalls are legal or illegal has nothing to do with the Do Not Call Registry.

      “If you receive a robocall and you did not provide consent to receive that robocall, it’s still illegal even if you never put your phone number on the Do Not Call Registry,” Hsue explained.

      Among the many challenges in stopping robocalls is that there isn’t a great mechanism in place to properly report and identify them, which Hsue said is part of the impetus for the “Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back” contest. By building honeypots and other tools to collect robocall information, it will help law enforcement efforts, she added. By also collecting the actual robocall data, which is part of the 2015 DefCon contest, the FTC will have even information available to potentially help identify the source of robocalls.

      “We receive a lot of complaints about robocalls at the FTC, and one of the issues for law enforcement is caller ID spoofing,” Hsue said. “It makes it very hard to identify who is responsible for making the robocall.”

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and writer for several leading IT business web sites.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×