Seven Tips for Better Email Security

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - July 9, 2009) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), today announced the publication of its third annual email security report, which focuses on the drivers, strategies and capabilities that leading organizations leverage to achieve less spam, fewer infections, less unplanned downtime, fewer data loss incidents, and lower cost of remediation. Email represents a convenient and ubiquitous means of communication, but it is also a source of incoming threats, a conduit for the propagation of vulnerabilities, and a potential opening to the world of organized crime, disgruntled former employees and inadvertent data loss.

Like other aspects of IT security, email security is best addressed in layers that work together to create a robust defense. Aberdeen's study found that top performers consider three fundamental dimensions of vulnerabilities as part of their overall approach to email security:

    1)  Inbound email threats such as spam, phishing attacks, malware,
        spyware, blended threats, scams, and spoofs
    2)  Outbound vulnerabilities and liabilities including accidental data
        loss, intentional data leakage, botnet activity, and contaminated
        outbound email
    3)  Risks associated with protecting email content, both outside and
        within the organization, including the inappropriate sharing of
        sensitive data

"Well-financed email threat creators persist in propagating ever more sophisticated attacks, as evidenced by the estimated 62 trillion spam messages sent last year," said Carol Baroudi, senior research analyst, Aberdeen. "Stressful economic times strain both budgets and the staff responsible for email security, and growing numbers of former employees leave their former employers at higher risk. Add the rising value of sensitive data in a difficult market, and we have a set of trends that point to critical reasons why organizations cannot ignore their email vulnerabilities."

A complimentary copy of this report is made available in part by the support of the following underwriters: Webroot and Google. To obtain a complimentary copy of the full report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5981.

For additional access to complimentary Information Technology research, visit research.aberdeen.com.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
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Contact Information: Media Contact: Carol Baroudi Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5287 Carol.Baroudi@aberdeen.com