M3AAWG
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
M3AAWG firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- M3AAWG
- Legal name
- Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group
- Website
- https://m3aawg.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
M3AAWG industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Anti-Abuse Industry Working Group Services
- NAICS
- Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Risk Intelligence, Threat Monitoring & Crisis Response (Harmful trends, coordinated abuse) (BPAAALAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Collaboration Security for Chat & Messaging (Teams/Slack) (HDADAKAF)
Keywords
Where M3AAWG is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
M3AAWG business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Dues: Organizations and companies pay membership fees to join M3AAWG, gaining access to member-only content, committees, SIGs, working sessions, and the General Meeting events. Membership is conferred upon application, board acceptance, and annual renewal.
- Meeting Registration Fees: Attendees pay registration fees to participate in M3AAWG General Meetings (held three times per year in different global locations). The meetings include working sessions, panels, training, and networking.
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
M3AAWG product offering
Product offeringCore offering
M3AAWG runs a global industry membership consortium that develops anti-abuse best practices, technical summaries, and public policy guidance covering email (DMARC/DKIM/SPF authentication), malware, mobile abuse, DNS abuse, IoT, and financial scams. Member value is delivered through tri-annual in-person General Meetings, ongoing Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and committees, a member-only portal with presentations and resource libraries, members-only Engagement Series webinars, the public M3AAWG 5 video series, and training resources including ABCs for ISPs and Feedback Loop resources.
Product overview
M3AAWG (Messaging, Malware, and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group) is a global industry working group that serves as a collaborative forum for fighting and preventing online abuse. Rather than offering a traditional software product, M3AAWG provides a suite of member-focused services including organized General Meetings (conferences held three times annually), Committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) addressing specific anti-abuse domains, Best Practices and Technical Documents, the M3AAWG 5 video series, member-only Engagement Series webinars, Awards Programs (J.D. Falk Award and Mary Litynski Award), and Training Resources including videos and supporting documents.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Industry Membership Annual industry-wide membership providing access to gated member portal resources, committee and Special Interest Group participation, members-only Engagement Series webinars, member-discounted General Meeting registration, and voting rights within the consortium.
- General Meetings In-person anti-abuse industry conferences held three times annually in rotating global locations (e.g., Paris, France October 26–29, 2026; Vancouver, Canada February 15–18, 2027; Dublin, Ireland June 14–17, 2027), featuring working sessions, Open Round Tables (ORTs), educational panels, keynotes, training, and networking for anti-abuse professionals worldwide. Registration fees apply with member discounts.
- Best Practices & Technical Documents Industry best practices documents, technical summaries, and supporting documents covering email authentication (DMARC, DKIM, SPF), messaging abuse, malware, mobile abuse, DNS abuse, botnets, IoT security, and policy guidance to help organizations combat online abuse.
- Committees & Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Member-organized working groups focused on specific anti-abuse domains including DDoS, Financial Services, IoT, Data & Identity Protection, AI Abuse, and Public Policy, providing structured collaboration environments for developing best practices and policy comments.
- Engagement Series (Members-Only Webinars) Members-only online webinar series covering emerging anti-abuse threats such as botnets, SMS blasters, IoT security, AI-driven abuse, residential proxy abuse, and DDoS, providing ongoing industry education between General Meetings.
- M3AAWG 5 Video Series Public video interview series featuring M3AAWG leaders and experts discussing pressing anti-abuse topics, available on YouTube to drive industry awareness and member recruitment.
- Training Resources Training videos, glossary resources, ABCs for ISPs, Feedback Loop Resources, and other educational materials developed to support anti-abuse professional development across the membership and broader industry.
Quantifiable outcome
- Financial scams in 2025 estimated to victimize 15 million U.S. adults and result in $68 billion in losses — data M3AAWG uses to target intervention priorities
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use M3AAWG
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
M3AAWG technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
M3AAWG partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- JPAAWG (Japan Anti-Abuse Working Group)coreJPAAWG is a regional affiliate of M3AAWG focused on anti-abuse efforts specific to Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. M3AAWG members travel to present at JPAAWG general meetings, exchange knowledge, and strengthen regional collaboration. The relationship exemplifies M3AAWG's strategy of supporting regional anti-abuse ecosystems.
- M3 Anti-Abuse Foundation (M3AAF)coreM3AAF is the supporting foundation for M3AAWG. It funds regional initiatives and training efforts, including 'Train-the-Trainers' programs at events like the FIRST & AfricaCERT Symposium. M3AAF supported M3AAWG member Brian Scriber's participation in the 2025 FIRST & AfricaCERT Symposium in Mauritius, demonstrating its role in expanding global anti-abuse capacity.
- LACNIC (Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry)minorLACNIC is the regional Internet address registry for Latin America and the Caribbean. M3AAWG participated in LACNIC 45 in Panama City, Panama (May 2026), with Severin Walker presenting on cybersecurity challenges and sharing anti-abuse best practices with network operators in the region. M3AAWG's prior collaboration with LACNIC contributed to botnet reduction in Brazil.
- CERT.br / NIC.br (Brazilian National Computer Emergency Response Team)minorM3AAWG worked with CERT.br on botnet mitigation for Brazilian home gateways, which had become an epicenter for botnet activity. Conversations led to a joint publication adopted by Brazilian national regulatory bodies, significantly curtailing botnet activity and establishing a compliance checklist for network operators.
- FIRST & AfricaCERTminorM3AAWG participates in the FIRST & AfricaCERT Symposium, a training and collaboration event for cybersecurity teams in Africa. M3AAF funding supported M3AAWG member Brian Scriber's participation in the 2025 symposium in Mauritius.
- AF-AAWG (Africa Anti-Abuse Working Group)minorRegional anti-abuse working group covering Africa, aligned with M3AAWG's mission. Mentioned alongside JPAAWG and LAC-AAWG as part of M3AAWG's global ecosystem of regional partners.
- LAC-AAWG (Latin America and Caribbean Anti-Abuse Working Group)minorRegional anti-abuse working group covering Latin America and the Caribbean, aligned with M3AAWG's mission and collaborative approach.
- GallupminorM3AAWG co-sponsored a landmark Gallup survey on scams in America (alongside Stop Scams Alliance), released June 2026. M3AAWG members contributed survey design input. The study revealed $68 billion in annual scam losses and 15 million U.S. adult victims.
- Stop Scams AllianceminorPartnered with M3AAWG and Gallup on the comprehensive scam study. Stop Scams Alliance founder and CEO Ken Westbrook acknowledged M3AAWG members for helping build the survey questions, which was designed to provide actionable insights for cross-industry collaboration.
- Operation ShamrockminorA nonprofit organization dedicated to dismantling the global scam ecosystem. Founder Erin West delivered a keynote at M3AAWG's 66th General Meeting (San Diego), and Aleks Ring led a train-the-trainer session at M3AAWG67 on crypto-enabled financial abuse. M3AAWG provides a platform for Operation Shamrock's investigations and outreach.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
M3AAWG competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- APWG (Anti-Phishing Working Group): APWG is the most direct peer: a global, industry-driven working group that convenes anti-phishing researchers, ISPs, and law enforcement to share threat data and produce reports. Operates a near-identical membership and working-group model focused on a closely adjacent abuse category (phishing vs. messaging/malware/mobile abuse).
- Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA): CTA is a member-based nonprofit that automates threat intelligence sharing among cybersecurity vendors, operating on a similar collaborative model with shared indicator exchange. Directly comparable in member-driven threat-intelligence focus, though CTA emphasizes automated platform sharing whereas M3AAWG emphasizes in-person working sessions.
- National Council of ISACs: The National Council of ISACs coordinates sector-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Centers across critical infrastructure. Operates a similar trust-based, cross-organization intelligence sharing model, but is sector-organized (finance, energy, health) rather than threat-organized like M3AAWG.
- FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams): FIRST is a global association of incident response and security teams operating a near-identical model: member organizations, SIGs, annual conferences, and best-practice publications. Compares to M3AAWG in membership structure, governance, and convening function, though FIRST's scope is broader (all incident response vs. M3AAWG's messaging/malware/mobile focus).
- CAUCE (Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email): CAUCE is a direct predecessor and peer organization that advocates against spam and supports anti-abuse policy. Referenced in M3AAWG's own history (J.D. Falk was a CAUCE co-founder); operates as a smaller, advocacy-focused counterpart to M3AAWG's broader technical convening role.
Broad incumbents
- GSMA: GSMA is the global mobile industry association representing mobile operators and the broader mobile ecosystem. Overlaps with M3AAWG's mobile anti-abuse scope but is much broader, addressing mobile network operator commercial and policy interests rather than focusing specifically on messaging abuse.
- Internet Society (ISOC): ISOC is a global nonprofit that promotes Internet openness, evolution, and trust. Operates a much broader mandate than M3AAWG but is comparable in nonprofit structure, policy advocacy, and Internet-governance community engagement.
Others
- ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers): ICANN oversees DNS policy and coordinates DNS abuse mitigation. M3AAWG regularly submits public comments to ICANN and shares DNS abuse expertise. ICANN is a standards/policy body rather than a peer working group, but the two organizations interact on DNS abuse policy and are both cited in M3AAWG's public policy work.
- IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force): IETF is the open standards body for Internet protocols, including email authentication standards (DMARC, DKIM, SPF) that are central to M3AAWG's domain. Multiple M3AAWG senior advisors (e.g., John Levine) are active IETF contributors. IETF is a standards body, not a working group peer, but the two organizations are tightly coupled through shared contributors and standards.
- Shadowserver Foundation: Shadowserver is a nonprofit security organization that collects, analyzes, and shares threat data on botnets, malware, and other abuse. Comparable in nonprofit, mission-driven structure and focus on abuse measurement, though Shadowserver emphasizes data collection and reporting rather than industry convening.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
M3AAWG social profiles
Digital presenceM3AAWG financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
M3AAWG leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
M3AAWG subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
M3AAWG funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
M3AAWG M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about M3AAWG
What does M3AAWG do?
M3AAWG runs a global industry membership consortium that develops anti-abuse best practices, technical summaries, and public policy guidance covering email (DMARC/DKIM/SPF authentication), malware, mobile abuse, DNS abuse, IoT, and financial scams. Member value is delivered through tri-annual in-person General Meetings, ongoing Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and committees, a member-only portal with presentations and resource libraries, members-only Engagement Series webinars, the public M3AAWG 5 video series, and training resources including ABCs for ISPs and Feedback Loop resources.
Is M3AAWG a public or private company?
M3AAWG is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was M3AAWG founded?
M3AAWG was founded in 2004. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is M3AAWG based?
M3AAWG is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does M3AAWG make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are meeting Registration Fees.
Who are M3AAWG's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are APWG (Anti-Phishing Working Group), Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), National Council of ISACs, FIRST (Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams) and CAUCE (Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email). Broad incumbents are GSMA and Internet Society (ISOC). Others are ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) and Shadowserver Foundation.
Does M3AAWG have an API?
No public API is recorded for M3AAWG.
What industry is M3AAWG in?
M3AAWG's product category is Anti-Abuse Industry Working Group Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAAALAN, Risk Intelligence, Threat Monitoring & Crisis Response (Harmful trends, coordinated abuse), with a secondary code of HDADAKAF, Collaboration Security for Chat & Messaging (Teams/Slack). Its NAICS code is 813910 and its SIC code is 8600.