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Product Details

Email security (2003)

Email is today's essential business product. But making sure the wrong kind of emails cannot get in or out of our networks is a major issue. By Craig Hinton

While no one would argue that the internet has brought countless benefits to the way we communicate, do business and run our lives, equally no one would claim that there hasn't been a down side to its use. Over the last few years, the dangers posed by the internet have been widely reported, from child-grooming in chat rooms to the ubiquity of internet porn. Safeguards and software can be put in place to help fight the problem, or a simple blanket ban may suffice. However, there is one area that is harder to police - email.

Convenient, but at what cost?

Email has become the lifeblood of many companies. Offering instantaneous messaging anywhere in the world, it has revolutionized most businesses. Costly travel, postage bills and inconvenient conference calls are rapidly becoming a thing of the past as companies hit that 'send' button countless times a day. Unfortunately, while many companies now depend on email for normal business practice, the unsavory side of those little messages has become very clear, very quickly.

The most obvious problem is virus infection. This was once seen to be nothing more than an irritation, until the really nasty viruses entered the wild. A malicious payload that can destroy a hard drive could cost a company millions in - repairs and lost time. Even a relatively harmless virus such as Love- - Letter brought companies to their knees by the sheer rate of multiplication and re-infection. In a perfect world, all PCs would have up-to-date anti-virus software, but this isn't a perfect world. It is much better, therefore, to stop these viruses before they ever reach the - internal network.

Then there are the 'unfortunate' emails, which are either sent to the wrong person, or become electronic chain letters. If the content of those emails is offensive, or confidential and sent to a rival, careers can be wrecked and companies can lose their competitive edge. It may also leave companies open to litigation for sexist or racist behavior.

When multiplied, this problem becomes spam. However much you try to avoid giving away your email address, there are countless companies using spiders across the internet to trawl for addresses - selling this information is extremely lucrative. More spiders detect the destination of the spam emails, and in a short time your inbox is full of junk mail. This isn't just an irritation, many spams are offensive (you all know the ones I mean), and there are severe bandwidth considerations. Too many spams can have a deleterious effect on network performance and therefore business.

No one is advocating a return to the paper memo, but taken together these all pose a serious threat to how businesses run. The subject of email security is therefore of increasing importance, and a number of companies are making serious inroads into that market.

Picking the right product

There are a number of factors to consider when looking for an email security solution. Firstly, you have to know what you want it to do. The products in this group test offer a whole variety of functionality, from simple encryption tools, right the way up to fully-fledged email servers with an arsenal of security features.

As ever, your first act must be to perform a complete risk assessment on your business. Which areas of email security are hitting you the hardest? Do you already have an anti-virus solution in place? If so, is it working? Do you want to continue using your existing product, or might there be something more suitable on the market?

Have you a problem with excessive non-business use, or accidental leakage of company information? What about auditing or tracking emails and email usage? Many of the products in this group test allow you to track all emails and their contents - incoming, outbound and external. Whether your administrator is a bean counter, or auditing is required by the companies you do business with, this may be a priority.

Seamless integration

Once you have decided on the functionality you require, you should look at your existing IT infrastructure. Will the new product integrate seamlessly with what you already have (such as anti-virus), or will it require extensive modifications, or even a completely new system? In today's economy, the latter will - almost certainly mean the product isn't chosen. Is it flexible enough to grow and change with your company, or is it set in stone? Can you add additional functionality when you need it, or do you have to wait for the next complete release? How much support is needed? Will you have to dedicate a member of staff to it, or is it automated? Does the vendor offer support that won't end up costing you an arm or a leg?

All these factors - and many more - must be evaluated before you invest in any sort of email - security system. But invest you must, because this problem is only going to get worse - and the consequences could be disastrous for you and your business.


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