Email vulnerabilities are on the rise -- and often in the form of outbound email, according to a recent study by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks company. Common outbound vulnerabilities include contaminated email, inadvertent email, unprotected email, and email used in data theft. Aberdeen senior analyst Carol Baroudi recommends protecting against outbound email vulnerabilities with a straight-forward combination of strategic actions, organizational capabilities, and enabling technologies. Free report.

The Aberdeen survey results show that the firms achieving Best-in-Class performance shared several common characteristics:

• 84% of Best-in-Class organizations report decreasing the number of incidents of viruses, Trojans, spyware, botnets or other malware contracted from email
• 71% of the Best-in-Class report a decrease in the number of data loss incidents associated with email
• 65% of the Best-in-Class have decreased negative publicity associated with email-related events
• 63% of the Best-in-Class have decreased the total cost associated with recovery and remediation from email attacks

Companies starting from ground zero can take these steps immediately:

• Deploy a solution that constantly watches for the emergence of new threats and that automatically works to thwart them. Relying on users to update virus signatures or software leaves the user’s machine vulnerable, and, if infected, threatens to infect others in the organization and those that communicate with the organization.
• Protect email in transmission by using some sort of encryption to protect the message itself.
• Deploy data loss prevention software that monitors outbound messages and attachments and can alert and intervene when email is being used inappropriately.
• Monitor and evaluate threats across the organization’s resources.

Average and best-in-class organizations can focus on specific areas, to better reduce costs and losses.

About this study

The Aberdeen Group report, "The Ins and Outs of Email Vulnerability" (July 2007), focuses on the threats posed by both inbound and outbound email as well as the strategies, capabilities and technologies Best-in-Class companies use to mitigate these threats. Free report; registration required.

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