Using Spam Blockers to Target HIV, Too BusinessWeek (10/01/07)No. 4052, P. 68; Baker, Stephen; Greene, Jay
as it appeared in the September 26, 2007 edition of ACM TechNews.
A team led by Microsoft Research's David Heckerman set out to build a tool that could block unwanted spam email through the thorough mapping out of thousands of possible spam indicators, and spammers responded to their efforts by modifying these identifiers to get around the blockers, for instance by substituting a "1" for the "i" in "Viagra." This virus-like mutation of spam inspired Heckerman, who is also a physician, to apply the principles behind the spam-blocking technology to the development of software that can detect the AIDS-causing HIV virus. The application of the spam blocker to AIDS research is not so surprising, as many of Microsoft's researchers stretch into other disciplines regularly. Heckerman analyzes both spam and HIV through the study of statistical relationships in their features, which mutate constantly. The Microsoft scientist draws parallels between spamming methodologies and the infection of cells by HIV, which is done when the virus injects its own genetic material into the cell and then replicates itself by the thousands, spawning mutants that are sometimes drug-resistant. Cells infected by HIV frequently carry mutated "signposts" that cannot be deciphered by immune systems, leading to cases in which drugs that are effective against one form of the virus are ineffective against another form. The hope of Heckerman and his colleagues is that their work could not only be fed into the generation of successful vaccines, but also lead to an effective tool for damming the deluge of junk email. Click Here to View Full Article
