FTC Launches Contest at DEF CON 22 to Help Track Down Perpetrators of Illegal Robocalls

The Federal Trade Commission is looking to expand the technological arsenal that can be used in the battle against illegal phone spammers by challenging DEF CON 22 attendees to build the ultimate “honeypot” to lure in and identify perpetrators of illegal robocalls. A robocall honeypot is an information system designed to attract robocallers, which can help experts and law enforcement authorities understand and combat illegal calls.

The new FTC challenge, called “Zapping Rachel”, will consist of three stand-alone contests hosted Aug 7-10, 2014, at one of the world’s oldest and largest hacker conferences. This challenge is another step in the FTC’s ongoing campaign against illegal, prerecorded telemarketing calls. In 2012, the agency hosted its first public robocall challenge, which garnered nearly 800 submissions, and stimulated the market to produce new robocall blocking technologies for consumers.

The Commission isn’t the first federal agency to tap the hacking community for technical solutions. Just last month, the White House supported the second annual National Day of Civic Hacking.

Complete rules will be posted to Challenge.gov in advance of the contest.

If consumers receive a robocall, they should report it to the Commission’s Do Not Call Complaint Assistant. For consumer tips and more information about the agency’s enforcement efforts against telemarketing scams, see www.ftc.gov/robocalls.

IR Press

Share
Published by
IR Press

Recent Posts

Treasury Issues Final Rule Expanding CFIUS Coverage of Real Estate Transactions Around More Than 60 Military Installations

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), as Chair of the Committee…

4 days ago

U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund and Federal Housing Finance Agency Collaborate to Bolster CDFI Access to Capital

WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) and…

4 days ago

Report on U.S. Portfolio Holdings of Foreign Securities at Year-End 2023

Washington – The findings from the annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities…

5 days ago

READOUT: U.S. Department of the Treasury Hosts Roundtable Discussion on the Financial Sector’s Response to Recent Hurricanes

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury hosted a roundtable on October 30 with…

5 days ago

READOUT: Sixth Meeting of the Financial Working Group Between the United States and the People’s Republic of China

WASHINGTON – The United States and the People’s Republic of China held the sixth meeting…

5 days ago

Treasury Sanctions Key Members of La Linea, a Group Involved in Trafficking Fentanyl into the United States

WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned…

5 days ago