BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - October 9, 2008) - A new report from Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks
Company (
NYSE:
HHS), sheds light on the escalating dangers facing
organizations that don't take adequate steps to safeguard their data, their
computers, their brand and even individuals who are becoming victims of
targeted, individualized attacks. With more than 130 billion email messages
generated daily, as much as 95% are being categorized as spam. And spam has
gone from nuisance advertising to covert attacks aimed at stealing data or
taking remote control over hundreds of millions of machines. For a
complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5285.
Organizations of every size face serious security challenges simply because
they use email. "My concern is that many organizations are unaware that
their computers may be part of a botnet -- a network of computers that can
be remotely controlled to send spam, participate in denial of service
attacks and even attack infrastructure," said Carol Baroudi, Sr. Research
Analyst. "Hundreds of millions of machines are infected this way, and the
infection is very difficult to detect. Our research indicates that most
organizations realize the need to change their email security strategy and
are actively trying to gain more control over email."
The report highlights the vulnerabilities organizations face on three
fronts. New malicious, sophisticated inbound email threats are generated
continuously, and many work in conjunction with pernicious websites in a
blended attack. Aberdeen research revealed that email is viewed as the 2nd
most serious channel for data loss or leakage -- both accidental and
intentional. And email is a conduit for sensitive data within
organizations.
Regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare require
demonstrable control over certain kinds of information and securing email
is critical. "Email is a critical part of all our business processes and
ensuring that every path sensitive data follows is secure and documented
takes a lot of time and effort," says a vice president of a major financial
services organization who was interviewed for this report.
Best-in-class organizations are doing a much better job in eliminating spam
from the inboxes of their users, keeping them free from infection, and
reducing data loss. Creating and enforcing acceptable use policies as well
as training users in safe and acceptable email use are part of what's
necessary to help organizations improve their email security.
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part to
support by the following underwriters: Websense, Google, Message Labs, and
Vircom. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5285.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
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
http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
© 2008 AberdeenGroup, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617)854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Carol Baroudi
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5287
carol.baroudi@aberdeen.com