Tuesday, 26 April 2005 16:40 EST

Anti-Spam Controls Cause Over One-Third of Workers to Miss Deadlines Survey from Infosecurity Europe and messaging expert Mirapoint also reveals UK businesses are failing to enforce effective email policies in the workplace

Mirapoint, a leading provider of email server and security appliances, in conjunction with Infosecurity Europe www.infosec.co.uk, has announced the results of a survey on the impact of spam controls on the reliability of email as a communication tool. The survey also highlights how UK companies enforce email policies in the workplace.

Sixty six percent of respondents said that legitimate emails they should have received have been blocked by a spam filter - known as false positives in the industry. Two thirds of those respondents said this happened on a monthly basis but a quarter of those surveyed revealed that they experience this problem on a weekly basis. While 51% of those respondents said time wasted was the most significant repercussion, 42% have missed a deadline as a result.

"The spam hysteria of the last few years has created the impression that blocking unwanted email is the primary concern for businesses with the result that some service providers and companies appear to have lost sight of their users' real needs and requirements," said Nigel Brooke, VP EMEA, Mirapoint. "The speed and reliability of email delivery is integral to its value as a business communications tool. Filtering unwanted messages ultimately serves no purpose if it undermines the effectiveness of the overall message network's responsiveness."

Nine out of ten of respondents are aware of an email policy at work but more than half of those surveyed are not required to formally sign up to this policy.

The key to an effective email policy is enforcement - there must be an element of compulsion if the policy is to be taken seriously. This is evident by the fact that while the vast majority of respondents were aware of the existence of an email policy at work, 29% of those surveyed admitted to sending an email containing inappropriate content, 34% said they had forwarded an email chain letter and 38% admitted they had forwarded an unsolicited product offer.

"In the same way that Internet misuse policies are now a provision of most employment contracts, email policies should also be made a standard provision, outlining the level of care expected of employees when using email," added Brooke. "In this way, all staff are made explicitly aware of their email obligations and the penalties of email misuse."

"Preventing spam is essential to preserve email as a productive business tool and protect organisations from attacks. Estimates for the volume of spam as a percentage of emails are approaching nearly 80% and spyware, Trojans and Adware are now contained in a large proportion of spam emails. However, anti-spam solutions need to be implemented correctly to protect end users and allow them to continue to use email productively. More than a third of respondents have missed deadlines as a result of legitimate emails being blocked by spam filters - this could have been prevented by use of standard features such as "white lists" and allowing users timely access to spam quarantine folders." Claire Sellick, Event Director Infosecurity Europe.

Mirapoint is exhibiting at Infosecurity Europe 2005 at stand 355 at the Grand Hall, Olympia from 26th April - 28th April 2005. www.infosec.co.uk About Mirapoint Mirapoint is a leader in solutions for message networks used by service provider, enterprise, education and government institutions. Customers use Mirapoint solutions, including the RazorGate email security appliances, to build message networks that intelligently and securely route, store, access and manage Internet messages, including email. Mirapoint is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For more information on Mirapoint, visit its Web site at www.mirapoint.com.

About Infosecurity Europe
Infosecurity Europe, running for its 10th year in 2005, is Europe's number one Information Security event. Featuring over 250 exhibitors, new products and services, an unrivalled education programme and visitors from every segment of the industry, it is the most important date in the calendar for Information Security professionals across Europe. Organised by Reed Exhibitions, the world's largest tradeshow organiser, Infosecurity Europe is one of ten Infosecurity events around the world with events also running in the USA, Belgium, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Italy, Russia, Spain, France and Canada. Infosecurity Europe runs from the 26th - 28th April 2005, The Grand Hall, Olympia, London. For further information please visit the website, www.infosec.co.uk