Safe Email - 7 Important Tips for Better Email Security in 2009

Safe Email
Seven Important Tips for Better Email Security in 2009
June 2009
Carol BaroudiSafe Email: Seven Important Tips for Better Email Security in 2009 Page 2
Executive Summary
Well-financed email threat creators persist in propagating ever more Research Benchmark sophisticated and potentially lethal attacks through the estimated 62 trillion Aberdeen's Research spam messages sent last year. Stressful economic times strain budgets and Benchmarks provide an in- the staff responsible for email security. Growing numbers of former depth and comprehensive look employees leave their former employers at higher risk. Add the rising value into process, procedure, of sensitive data in a desperate market, and we have a set of trends that all methodologies, and point to critical reasons organizations cannot ignore their email technologies with best practice vulnerabilities. This report highlights ways Best-in-Class organizations identification and actionable harden themselves against threats from email. recommendations.
Best-in-Class Performance Aberdeen used five key performance criteria to distinguish Best-in-Class companies:
· Reduced lost productivity as a result of email · "We're an international firm Decreased volume of spam reaching end-users and we've had the horrible · Decreased cost associated with recovery from email attacks experiences of seeing our competitors with exact · Decreased data loss incidents attributable to email duplicates of our emailed · Decreased number of incidents of viruses, Trojans, spyware, and proposals in their hands. We've botnet or other malware infections contracted from email found a way to ensure that our targeted recipient and only our targeted recipient gets what Competitive Maturity Assessment we're sending and we're very Survey results show that the firms enjoying Best-in-Class performance happy. We've been doing this since the first of the year and shared several common characteristics: aren't experiencing any of the · 58% reduced the number of incidents of email attacks targeted at problems we experienced individuals before. We also need to transmit large architectural · 54% reduced lost business, lost productivity, or lost information as a drawings as well as large result of false positives medical digital imaging files. This is proving to be a much · 38% reduced financial loss from data loss as a result of email-related better way for us to exchange events (including fraud) data." ~ CEO, $5 million international Recommended Actions consulting firm In addition to the specific recommendations in Chapter Three of this report, users should:
· Create a comprehensive email security strategy that includes inbound and outbound email, and email internal to the organization · Define and enforce consistent email and data security policies · Educate users on safe and appropriate email use
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Table of Contents Executive Summary.......................................................................................................2 Best-in-Class Performance.....................................................................................2 Competitive Maturity Assessment.......................................................................2 Recommended Actions...........................................................................................2 Chapter One: Benchmarking the Best-in-Class.....................................................4 Business Context.....................................................................................................4 The Maturity Class Framework............................................................................4 The Best-in-Class PACE Model............................................................................5 Best-in-Class Strategies...........................................................................................6 Chapter Two: Benchmarking Requirements for Success....................................8 Competitive Assessment........................................................................................8 Capabilities and Enablers........................................................................................9 Chapter Three: Recommended Acti... [download for more]