Isle of Man cracks down on spammers

Spammers and phishers are attempting to target domain names of small islands

The Isle of Man has stepped up its fight against spammers exploiting its .im country code top-level domain name. 

The .im registry, which controls domain name registrations for the island, has teamed up with security firm McAfee to clamp down on spam and phishing. 

McAfee warned that it has recently identified spammers and phishers attempting to target domain names of small islands in an effort to circumvent protection software.

"The operators and governments of the listed islands cannot be blamed for the abuse we are seeing. They are no different from any other country in terms of stopping abuse of their top-level domains by spammers," said Guy Roberts, senior development manager at McAfee's anti-spam research and development team.

Andy Swearman, managing director of Domicilium, which administers the .im registry, added: "Individuals who abuse the internet will always seek to identify any vulnerability.

"Domicilium is proud of its security reputation and the tough stance it takes when it identifies any abuse. Working closely with an organisation like McAfee can only provide further benefit to our customer base."