Road show highlights email security warning across Middle East

Their latest project to publicize the dangers of poor email security was a series of road shows in Dubai, Beirut and Jordan this week. The impact on business efficiency was discussed, as well as ways to prevent security threats from reaching internal networks.

Unsolicited commercial email, or spam, is one of the many problems associated with under-investment in email security. Many spam emails contain blended virus threats, which exploit unprotected systems by masquerading as material from legitimate sources.

A 100 per cent increase in spam was recorded in the Middle East during the last four months of 2003, making it the fastest-growing Internet security problem in the region. The three companies teamed up to highlight this overwhelming proliferation, and to draw IT managers' attention to the potential consequences for their businesses.

'We mounted this campaign to make people aware that spam is more than just an inconvenience. In addition to the impact on efficiency and time wasted on emptying clogged inboxes, spam can also present a threat to the integrity and bandwidth of networks,' said Martyn Molnar, solutions architect, Tech Access.

'Increasingly, malicious spam emails disguise themselves as useful items, sometimes even messages from colleagues and associates. Once they are opened, systems are vulnerable to any malicious content the messages might contain, including viruses and malformed message content. That is why more companies in the region are considering solutions like specific mail firewalls and advanced content filtering technology,' commented Peter Cox, Borderware's international vice president.

The show visited the Dubai Internet City conference hall, Beirut's Metropolitan Hotel and the Amman Le Meridien Hotel. Each was a morning session, with the theme 'Securing Infrastructure from End to End.' The shows were a step forward from traditional security seminars, which only address firewall technology.

Borderware's Mail Firewall, which takes anti-spam technology to levels far beyond simple content filtering by separating main data traffic from email traffic, was highlighted, along with a range of other key solutions. These included NameVault, the BorderWare secure DNS server; secure document storage and retrieval; and embedded proxy firewall protection at application level.

Customers across the Middle East deploying these solutions upon Sun technology include intelligence agencies, government departments and diplomatic missions.

Spokespeople from Borderware, Sun Microsystems and ASP Gulf spoke at the events, discussing security architecture, the affordability of anti-spam solutions, and how the time and efficiency savings they deliver can make them into assets that pay for themselves many times over.

'The volume of spam in the region is increasing, and this - combined with the problem of new and dangerous virus variants like mydoom and doomjuice - is creating significant challenges to companies' networks and systems. It's essential that companies have the opportunity to hear about potential solutions and discuss the critical issues involved, and we hope that this road show was a positive contribution,' concluded Molnar.

The shows were open to all interested parties, not just IT managers. Business managers in particular were invited to witness the major operational and financial benefits offered by the integrated range of iForce data solutions.