Corporations are faced with more and more concerns regarding e-mail and how to manage it. Packages that manage e-mail systems already exist, but if MD Michael Wright has any say in it, the E-mail Corporation will make waves with its new, yet to be named, all-in-one e-mail management system.
Wright reasons that e-mail must be treated with the same amount of respect as a PABX and security system, for example. "As a company spends money on implementing a firewall, so too must it spend money on the security of its e-mail system," he notes.
The system can be divided into three parts: an anti-virus system, an archiving and backup system, and a monitoring system.
Anti-virus
The e-mail firewall can be used in conjunction with an existing firewall. Whereas a traditional firewall enables all e-mail messages to pass through it without checking it for viruses, the anti-virus firewall scans all incoming e-mails.
If an e-mail contains a suspect attachment or virus, it will be taken offline and placed in a quarantined area. A message will then be sent to the intended receiver stating that an e-mail has been received and contains a suspect attachment or virus. The recipient can then choose whether he/she wants to receive that e-mail if there is an anti-virus installed on his/her computer. Alternatively, the e-mail and attachment will be deleted.
Monitoring system
Wright remarks wryly that "this is serious Big Brother stuff. The monitoring system sees what the e-mail is, who it is from, what it contains and whether it should be sent to the user or not."
He admits that the privacy advocates will probably be up in arms about this aspect, but points out: "The first principle of this whole system is that the e-mail belongs to the company and not to the user. If you want to send personal e-mail, you must do it from your home."
The administrator can determine the size of all incoming e-mail messages. If the message is greater than the specified size, it will be stopped and a message will be sent to its intended receiver specifying all the information regarding that e-mail. The user will then be able to determine whether he/she would like to download the message or not.
A company will also be able to determine the size of all outgoing e-mail messages. "This saves bandwidth and protects confidentiality. Employees should not be able to send out enormous e-mail attachments unless they have a really good reason. Allowing this is tantamount to letting employees walk out the building with a filing cabinet on his/her back," says Wright.
There is also the ability to configure the system in order not to receive or send e-mails to certain domain names. E-mail from specific locations can be placed in quarantine followed by an e-mail to the administrator who determines whether the e-mail should be sent to the intended receiver or deleted.
"The benefit of stopping outgoing e-mails to particular domain names is that mail to the company`s competitors can be stopped. The administrator can follow the same procedure as with incoming quarantined messages."
The last aspect of this monitoring system is that a key word search can be used in conjunction with the domain name prohibitions. Any words the company determines appropriate can be added to the list.
Archive and backup
The last part of the system is the archiving and backup facility. Any e-mail, whether incoming or outgoing, will be archived and backed up into compressed files by the E-mail Corporation. All the backup files may be kept with the E-mail Corporation and are easily available to clients.
Wright sums up the product by saying: "This is a one-stop shop for all the e-mailing needs of a company. The interface for administrators is wholly Web-based and eliminates the need for in-depth programming."
While there are still some issues that need to be resolved, such as the name of the product, Wright is pleased with the market reception. "We will release the product at the end of this month."
* Michael Wright is also the chairman of ABIS (Audit Bureau of Internet Standards).
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