E-Mail Remains A Point Of Vulnerability

The total cost to protect E-messaging systems ranges from $117.34 per user per year for companies with fewer than 2,500 employees to $62.87 per user per year for companies with 2,500 or more employees. This translates into a monthly cost per user of $9.78 and $5.24, respectively.

Spam filtering is the major focus of any messaging security strategy. While small companies on average spend 29.5 hours per week per 1,000 users to manage E-mail security, 9.1 hours per week per 1,000 users are spent combating unsolicited messages. Larger companies on average spend 15.2 hours per week per 1,000 users on messaging security, with 4.1 hours per week devoted to anti-spam management, according to Osterman Research.

Yet, effective administration of messaging systems requires more than anti-spam management. The research firm's Messaging Security Market Trends 2005-2008 study finds that businesses face a myriad of messaging problems.

Of the 115 companies surveyed, two-thirds struggle to provide adequate storage for E-messages. An equal number have inadequate E-mail archiving. Two in five say large E-mail attachments are taxing their messaging capability. Most alarming, nearly all surveyed companies have had their networks successfully penetrated by a virus, worm, or other form of malware through E-mail.

Companies also have employee-related problems. Half the sites report employees sending or receiving inappropriate content electronically, while 40% have had staff view inappropriate content. E-mail bandwidth has been clogged at a third of sites because of employees oversubscribing to E-newsletters or mailing lists. Nearly half of all companies say employees have E-mailed or instant messaged confidential data, while nearly 20% have been infiltrated by a virus or related threat via IM.

What's the biggest E-mail threat to your company?

Helen D'Antoni
Senior Editor, Research
[email protected]

Protective Steps

Where has your company deployed security systems for E-mail and instant messaging?

Antivirus and anti-spam initiatives are the basis of any messaging security strategy. But content filtering for outbound E-mail and methods to monitor IM are lacking. Of the 115 companies Osterman Research surveyed, 43% don't monitor the content of E-mails sent by employees, and three in five don't monitor IM.