Author: M3AAWG Leadership

The Messaging Malware Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) has named Janet Jones of Microsoft as chairperson of the trusted global forum addressing cybersecurity, abuse and related issues around email and messaging.

She is joined by board members/officers Matt Thomas,Verisign distinguished engineer and chief security office of Verisign's cyber security strategy and research department, vice chair; Sam Silberman, Director of Standards and Industry Relations with Constant Contact, treasurer; and Amy Cadagin, M3AAWG executive director, secretary.

Jones is the organization’s first female chairperson. She has previously served from 2017 to 2020 as board vice chair and then as board co-chair in 2021. She has been an active member of M3AAWG since 2014, where she has participated in a number of the organization’s committees and special interest groups, including creating and leading the diversity and inclusion committee and data identity and protection committee.

She is currently leading M3AAWG members into the continuing evolution of ever-challenging cybersecurity issues with a focus on developing the organization, security readiness, data and identity protection, communications and the supply chain. The group recently collaborated with the National Institute of Standards to address the recently issued U.S. Executive Order 14028, for example and has just published a best practices document on protecting brands from online abuse.

“I am incredibly excited to work with the industry expert members here at M3AAWG to combat growing issues of online and messaging abuse. Whether we are tackling SMS message abuse, protecting domains or securing our software supply chain, M3AAWG has the knowledge that it can share to make a real difference in today’s cybersecurity issues,” said Jones. “As we emerge from a worldwide pandemic, I commend our members and board for their work during a challenging time and look forward to meeting the needs of this community.”

M3AAWG also would like to extend a sincere thank you to Severin Walker for his five-year contribution to M3AAWG as chairperson and co-chairperson. He has given thousands of hours to move the organization forward and ensure we remain a place for our members to collaborate on the latest in anti-abuse efforts.

M3AAWG was founded in 2004 as a technology-neutral, non-political working body. The group focuses on operational issues of internet abuse including technology, industry collaboration and public policy. Membership includes internet service providers (ISPs), telecom companies, email service providers (ESP), social networking companies, leading hardware and software vendors, major brands, major antivirus vendors and numerous security vendors from across the globe. Its members develop and publish publicly available best practices as well as training and educational materials. The group also provides technical and operational guidance to governments, internet and public policy agencies. At Microsoft, Jones is responsible for managing strategic internal and external relationships with a focus on resolving cross-industry cybersecurity and standards challenges globally as part of the Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) organization. This includes providing expertise for current and emerging security and technology trends.

M3AAWG recently completed its February members meeting, where members gathered to discuss and collaborate on a number of trending topics. The group will meet in London June 13-16 with a focus on regional cybersecurity topics.

Learn more about M3AAWG and membership opportunities at https://www.m3aawg.org/about-m3aawg.