Security Risks in Outgoing Email

Security Risks in Outgoing Email Often Overlooked
By Eva Gibson

The threat of an employee inadvertently infecting a business computer network via malware received through a work email or instant message is one that most businesses have taken steps to prevent. Even businesses that are small or not very technically savvy have antivirus software, firewalls, and other security measures in place to prevent the costly and sometimes risky issue of an infected network. However, with all the fuss about incoming email, a surprising number of businesses pay little to no attention to the dangers associated with outbound email.

According to a recent study performed by Proofpoint Inc., a California-based security company, possible security risks that stem from lack of protocol related to emails sent from company computers. Concerns such as protection of sensitive data, privacy, legal risks, and embarrassment to the company have inspired many businesses to put in place standards of practice for employees who send email (and there are very few who don’t these days) and to enforce security policies on outgoing messages. Many employers are also concerned about employees posting sensitive information on blogs or message boards. The Proofpoint Inc. study, which focused on businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom that employ more than 1,000 people, gathered information on the following aspects of email security:

1. The level of concern about outgoing email content leaving large organizations
2. The methods and technologies those organizations have used to control or otherwise secure outgoing emails
3. The state of messaging-related policy implementation and enforcement in large organizations
4. The frequency of various types of policy violations and data security breaches