“SORBS has a protracted and considerably checkered historical past. It was created within the early 2000s, with a DNSBL (Area Identify System-based Blackhole Listing) model coming on-line in January 2002,” Chandler wrote. “The closure of SORBS doesn’t mark any actual turning level within the electronic mail safety panorama. Though it was one of many oldest DNSBL companies, SORBS helped primarily hobbyist electronic mail directors filter spam and different malicious electronic mail site visitors. Nevertheless, its controversial historical past and administration points have made it a supply of frustration for a lot of within the trade and depressed its total use. SORBS listings haven’t been thought of impactful within the electronic mail advertising and marketing area for a few years. A latest consulting shopper noticed fewer than 200 messages blocked over a quantity of lower than one million.”
Different methods to filter spam
Girish Bhat, a safety advertising and marketing govt who labored for Proofpoint when SORBS was acquired, mentioned the choices had been influenced by enterprise dynamics and the issue in making such an inventory worthwhile.
“For a excessive development enterprise like Proofpoint, monetization would have required important funding, and the ROI was unclear. I imagine that the e-mail trade wouldn’t have gotten right here with out DNSBL companies resembling Spamhaus, SpamCop, SORBS and others. As most of those companies originated and are managed by a devoted particular person or people with sturdy opinions, it’s prone to alienate just a few,” Bhat mentioned. “To Proofpoint’s credit score, even after the SORBS acquisition, they didn’t intrude with its day-to-day operations. Discussions round monetizing SORBS had been deserted rapidly. Though SORBS was a pioneer and did serve an essential neighborhood function previously, its utility has diminished because of a plethora of different companies.”
