--- title: "Monday Buzz: Spam Is Fading. Threats Are Not." id: "29345" type: "post" slug: "monday-buzz-spam-is-fading-threats-are-not" published_at: "2015-07-20T19:04:36+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T14:20:18+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/07/20/monday-buzz-spam-is-fading-threats-are-not/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/07/20/monday-buzz-spam-is-fading-threats-are-not.md" excerpt: "Why you shouldn't let your guard down just because a new report suggests a drop in spam email. Also: If you're focused on charitable donations, a membership mindset could still work for you." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "donation" - "Membership" - "nonprofit" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Monday Buzz: Spam Is Fading. Threats Are Not. The good news: Spam is finally starting to lose its grip on our inboxes. The bad news? Well, in its place are far more dangerous threats. According to Symantec’s latest Intelligence Report, the spam email rate has decreased to 49.7 percent—the first time it’s gotten below 50 percent since 2003. (For some perspective on how long ago that was in internet years: In 2003, Gmail didn’t even *exist*.) But while spam has gone down, malware and phishing remain common threats for computer users, and ransomware—software that hackers use to encrypt files, after which they demand that the victims pay a ransom to regain access to those files—is a growing problem. The result is that your inbox may soon no longer be the primary vessel of malware. “This increase in activity lends more evidence to the idea that, with the continued drops in email-based malicious activity, attackers are simply moving to other areas of the threat landscape,” Ben Nahorney, cybersecurity threat analyst at Symantec, [explains in the report (opens in a new tab)](http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/enterprise/other_resources/intelligence-report-06-2015.en-us.pdf) [PDF]. The report reveals that the industries most often subjected to targeted attacks are manufacturing; finance, insurance, and real estate; and professional services. While manufacturing remains the industry most targeted by threats, at 22 percent, the level is down significantly from 41 percent in May. ### Treat Donations Like Membership > How Nonprofits Can Tap Into The Membership Economy via [@classy (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/classy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > . [http://t.co/oACIGKu3iZ (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/oACIGKu3iZ) > Thanks [@AllisonGauss (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/AllisonGauss?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > ! [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — Robbie Kellman Baxter (@robbiebax) [July 18, 2015 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/robbiebax/status/622279721787727872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ***“More and more people are choosing** to pay organizations a small monthly fee, much like a recurring donation. With online and automatic payment, the arrangement is almost effortless.”* Is the membership economy a strategy that charitable nonprofits should start looking into? [Allison Gauss, in a blog post for Classy, makes the case that nonprofits focused on donations (opens in a new tab)](http://www.classy.org/blog/how-nonprofits-can-tap-into-the-membership-economy/) , rather than membership, should start borrowing from the membership approach, especially considering that membership is increasingly becoming a key way that younger consumers embrace content. (What, you mean you don’t have a Spotify subscription?) But it’s not enough to draw people to monthly-donation membership plans, Gauss says. “The most important tip that all nonprofits should remember for monthly giving is that communication is key,” Gauss adds. “Anyone who makes a monthly gift to your organization deserves to be thanked and to continually see the impact of their donations. Ongoing gifts require ongoing stewardship.” *(ht @[robbiebax (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/robbiebax/) )* ### Other Links of Note **One side benefit** of moving to the cloud is that you don’t need to waste your server room on giant machines anymore. Google for Work has some ideas [for giving those drab rooms a second life (opens in a new tab)](http://googleforwork.blogspot.com/2015/07/server-rooms-totally-eclipsed-by-the-cloud.html) . **Let’s think about the ways** you can make your association stand out. SCD Group President Steve Drake [provides some starting points (opens in a new tab)](http://www.scdgroup.net/2015/07/what-makes-your-association-stand-out.html) . **iOS app of the day:** The share extension Bee [makes it faster to send along emails via a list of favorite contacts (opens in a new tab)](http://lifehacker.com/bee-quickly-sends-emails-from-any-ios-app-1718528084) when you’re surfing around the interwebs. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#donation](https://associationsnow.com/tag/donation/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) [#nonprofit](https://associationsnow.com/tag/nonprofit/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [Video2025 Summit Award Recipient: Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Los AngelesOctober 3, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/10/03/2025-summit-award-recipient-building-owners-and-managers-association-of-greater-los-angeles/) - [VideoWhy Give to the ASAE Research FoundationDecember 2, 2019](https://associationsnow.com/2019/12/02/why-give-to-the-asae-research-foundation/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F07%2F20%2Fmonday-buzz-spam-is-fading-threats-are-not%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !