Security Threats on E-Mail Detrimental to Businesses

Webroot, a company that leads in providing security solutions to enterprises, SMB markets and consumers, on April 1, 2008, released its new report, "State of Internet Security: Protecting Business E-mail."

Webroot indicated that while businesses were producing massive amounts of e-mail as well as trying to effectively store and secure them, cyber criminals, on the other hand, were aiming at those e-mails for their rich and valuable corporate and personal information. Therefore, enterprises need to make diligent efforts to remain ahead of the potential network hackers, existed inside and outside their walls.

Mike Irwin, COO, Webroot, said that the fight to suppress spam is a continuous struggle for a large number of organizations, as spammers go on presenting a costly and serious threat to the overall business sector. Irwin says that his company has estimated that in 2008, there would be more than 42,000 spam mails for every company e-mail account, which means about 116 on a single day. And, since spammers are making efforts to beat traditional filters with attachments and images, there has been a 60% growth in the size of spam since 2004, as reported by BUSINESS WIRE on April 1, 2008.

Irwin also added that the volume and size of these attacks by spam mails is largely because of today's filtering defenses that are forcing spammers to find more effective methods. It is, thus easy to understand why first-generation server defenses like server-based software and appliances are striving to keep pace with the ever-increasing spam.

The research report, however, concludes that the amount of e-mail along with sensitive data in company's e-mail and even more importantly, the inventive methods of cyber thieves to steal business e-mail have met with changes down the years.

Chris Benham, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Webroot, said that hence, organizations need to adopt more proactive approaches to properly place the policy rules and ensure that employees adhere to e-mail limitations, as reported by TechNewsWorld on April 1, 2008.

Further, as spam grows rapidly, there is also a corresponding growth in malware. Research by the industry reveals that malware peaked to 5.5 Million variants in 2007 from 50,000 in 2004.

Related article: Securities Push Up A Must For Web Companies

» SPAMfighter News - 4/10/2008