Anti-spam solutions - a critical part of your IT security
6 September 2004
Anti-spam solutions were once considered "nice to have" but not essential. However, the increasing collaboration between spammers and viruses writers means an anti-spam solution is now a critical component for any company that is serious about maintaining IT security.
There are three key reasons to implement an anti-spam solution in conjunction with an anti-virus solution, to deliver a comprehensive email security strategy.
Viruses are being spammed
Virus writers are spamming out viruses, sending millions of copies at once. These emails are sent using lists that virus writer purchase from "real" commercial spammers - spammers who are just trying to make money by selling a product.
This means that, as a percentage of email traffic, there are more virus-infected emails than ever before. Whereas two years ago, viruses made up 1 in every 100 emails, they now make up one in every 12 emails.
Business is being hit by many more virus-infected emails, so the defences need to be better, and a key defensive strategy is to stop the spam.
Traditional anti-virus programs don't detect spammed viruses
The viruses being sent by spam are often not detected by standard anti-virus programs. Traditionally, viruses were contained in a file attachment to the email which could be scanned by gateway or desktop anti-virus software.
Now, spam messages may contain a link to a website which, when selected, downloads and installs a trojan on the user's computer, effectively bypassing their anti-virus programs. These trojans can open up a port on the computer, sometimes called a "back-door", that lets the virus writers use the machine to send out spam and viruses.
A business can therefore be sued for sending spam, even if the spam has come from a computer that has been compromised and is being used to send emails without consent.
According to CITEC's partner MessageLabs, 70% of spam is sent by compromised machines. The chances of being infected by a virus which has bypassed traditional anti-virus software are reduced by preventing spam.
Spam costs money
Businesses lose productivity because every employee has to spend time deleting spam. Furthermore, each time a spam message is downloaded it costs the business in bandwidth usage. Spam also adds to storage costs by forcing businesses to increase the storage capacity of mail servers to store the spam messages.
Companies with in-house anti-spam solutions spend money on the hardware, software and daily management of the solution to ensure it is kept up-to-date.
Then there are the costs of a spam-related virus infection and the potential damage to corporate reputation when spam is sent from compromised computers.
CITEC can help
CITEC staff can identify the most appropriate solution for your organisation. We offer a complete lifecycle approach from audit, design and procurement, to integration, management and reporting, providing a security solution that meets your business IT security needs in the most cost effective manner.
MessageLabs
MessageLabs is the leading provider of managed email security services to businesses based on market share, according to the Yankee Group Security Solutions & Services, February 2004 Report. The company offers industry-leading managed Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam, Image Control and Content Control services to more than 8,500 businesses around the world to combat email threats before they reach corporate networks and without the need for additional hardware or software. For more information on MessageLabs, please visit www.messagelabs.com.
