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Tech Update
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As e-mail continues to grow as the most-favored vehicle for corporate communications, securing corporate e-mail systems will become a priority for many enterprises. Attendees at the RSA Conference 2002 are likely to see a variety of safe e-mail solutions, but may be deterred by the prospect of attempting to integrate and manage new and complex software. Postini, an e-mail applications company, thinks it has a better idea.
Postini's Active EMS (E-Mail Management System) is a new service that can make securing and managing e-mail easier. Active EMS targets major enterprise e-mail issues, such as limiting e-mail downtime, getting timely system activity statistics and reports, and handling e-mail-borne viruses.
Active EMS is an SMTP service that moves e-mail monitoring off the corporate network. It sits between the Internet and customers' e-mail servers, providing a "pass-through architecture" for real-time messaging processing. The service monitors and gathers statistics on SMTP data before it reaches internal e-mail servers. If it detects foul play, it blocks threats or stops connections. Founder and Vice President of Products & Engineering Scott Petry describes the service as "the last hop" for e-mail before it reaches its destination. Because it operates externally, Active EMS can relieve network managers of many e-mail security tasks.
The Active EMS platform comprises several services:
- Traffic Monitor provides real-time or near real-time status and statistics for all mail activity
- Traffic Manager detects DoS attacks and other perils, and blocks suspect IP ranges at the source based on criteria you establish
- Delivery Monitor manages e-mail servers and balances loads as necessary
- E-mail spooling helps cope with server outages; in the event of a server failure, mail messages are spooled until service is restored
- System Alerts notify e-mail sys admins when threatening events occur
- Detailed Reporting can be used to track use of e-mail system resources; trend data can be used to determine capacity planning
According to Petry, Active EMS processed over one billion messages in 2001. The service has been in beta since November, and was made available through the company's sales channel in January. Currently 27 companies are using Active EMS to help safeguard their e-mail systems.
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