Proofpoint has announced the shutdown of the famous spam blocking service.
Proofpoint, a cybersecurity software company, has suspended its spam blocking service SORBS (Spam and Open Relay Blocking System). This service has been providing information about known spam sources for many years, helping you create block lists.
SORBS provided free access to the DNS database (DNSBL), which includes more than 12 million servers known for spreading spam, phishing attacks and other malicious emails. The service's list usually included mail servers suspected of sending or forwarding spam, hacked and infected servers,and servers with Trojans.
The service was trusted by more than 200,000 organizations and was highly appreciated for its accuracy. SORBS was created more than twenty years ago by Michelle Sullivan, who ran it as a Proofpoint employee from Australia.
About the reasons for the closure of the service, Proofpoint said: "The decision to terminate the product is never easy and was made after careful consideration of various factors affecting the stability of the service. We can confirm that SORBS was decommissioned on June 5, 2024, and the service no longer contains any reputation data. Given the wide range of potential replacements on the market, Proofpoint cannot recommend or approve any particular product; it depends on the needs of the organization."
After SORBS was completed, its "Zones" - 18 lists, each of which was dedicated to different categories of spam servers-were cleared of data. However, in the future, restoring information in the "Zones" will require minimal effort, since the code base of the service has remained intact, which will make it relatively easy to resume its work.
The closure of the SORBS service has sparked discussions in the anti-spam community about the possible acquisition and further management of this resource. During its existence, SORBS has undergone several transformations. Initially, the service was hosted on the university's infrastructure, where its founder Michelle Sullivan worked. However, with the growing influence and burden on SORBS, it had to be transferred to GFI. A few years later, GFI transferred control of the service to Proofpoint, which owned it until its recent closure.
As it turned out, the costs of hosting and maintaining SORBS were so high that it was impossible for one person to bear this burden. Knowledgeable sources are confident that offers to buy SORBS will definitely come, including from organizations associated with the distribution of spam, which for many years have shown interest in controlling this influential service for their own selfish purposes.
The anti-spam community hopes that legitimate organizations will take over the management of SORBS. Although alternative block lists exist, such as SpamCop and Spamhaus, SORBS transparent and open working methods have been highly valued throughout its existence.
Transparency in the operation of block lists is of paramount importance, since the operators of such resources can significantly complicate the operation of legitimate email services. SORBS used a support system and specialists who carefully considered each case of getting into the lists. we documented these discussions and kept them in archives. Thus, the service had long-standing records confirming that SORBS did not act arbitrarily or vindictively.
Proofpoint, a cybersecurity software company, has suspended its spam blocking service SORBS (Spam and Open Relay Blocking System). This service has been providing information about known spam sources for many years, helping you create block lists.
SORBS provided free access to the DNS database (DNSBL), which includes more than 12 million servers known for spreading spam, phishing attacks and other malicious emails. The service's list usually included mail servers suspected of sending or forwarding spam, hacked and infected servers,and servers with Trojans.
The service was trusted by more than 200,000 organizations and was highly appreciated for its accuracy. SORBS was created more than twenty years ago by Michelle Sullivan, who ran it as a Proofpoint employee from Australia.
About the reasons for the closure of the service, Proofpoint said: "The decision to terminate the product is never easy and was made after careful consideration of various factors affecting the stability of the service. We can confirm that SORBS was decommissioned on June 5, 2024, and the service no longer contains any reputation data. Given the wide range of potential replacements on the market, Proofpoint cannot recommend or approve any particular product; it depends on the needs of the organization."
After SORBS was completed, its "Zones" - 18 lists, each of which was dedicated to different categories of spam servers-were cleared of data. However, in the future, restoring information in the "Zones" will require minimal effort, since the code base of the service has remained intact, which will make it relatively easy to resume its work.
The closure of the SORBS service has sparked discussions in the anti-spam community about the possible acquisition and further management of this resource. During its existence, SORBS has undergone several transformations. Initially, the service was hosted on the university's infrastructure, where its founder Michelle Sullivan worked. However, with the growing influence and burden on SORBS, it had to be transferred to GFI. A few years later, GFI transferred control of the service to Proofpoint, which owned it until its recent closure.
As it turned out, the costs of hosting and maintaining SORBS were so high that it was impossible for one person to bear this burden. Knowledgeable sources are confident that offers to buy SORBS will definitely come, including from organizations associated with the distribution of spam, which for many years have shown interest in controlling this influential service for their own selfish purposes.
The anti-spam community hopes that legitimate organizations will take over the management of SORBS. Although alternative block lists exist, such as SpamCop and Spamhaus, SORBS transparent and open working methods have been highly valued throughout its existence.
Transparency in the operation of block lists is of paramount importance, since the operators of such resources can significantly complicate the operation of legitimate email services. SORBS used a support system and specialists who carefully considered each case of getting into the lists. we documented these discussions and kept them in archives. Thus, the service had long-standing records confirming that SORBS did not act arbitrarily or vindictively.
