BOSTON, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/09/08 -- A new report from Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), sheds light on the escalating dangers facing organizations that don't take adequate steps to safeguard their data, their computers, their brand and even individuals who are becoming victims of targeted, individualized attacks. With more than 130 billion email messages generated daily, as much as 95% are being categorized as spam. And spam has gone from nuisance advertising to covert attacks aimed at stealing data or taking remote control over hundreds of millions of machines. For a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5285.

Organizations of every size face serious security challenges simply because they use email. "My concern is that many organizations are unaware that their computers may be part of a botnet -- a network of computers that can be remotely controlled to send spam, participate in denial of service attacks and even attack infrastructure," said Carol Baroudi, Sr. Research Analyst. "Hundreds of millions of machines are infected this way, and the infection is very difficult to detect. Our research indicates that most organizations realize the need to change their email security strategy and are actively trying to gain more control over email."

The report highlights the vulnerabilities organizations face on three fronts. New malicious, sophisticated inbound email threats are generated continuously, and many work in conjunction with pernicious websites in a blended attack. Aberdeen research revealed that email is viewed as the 2nd most serious channel for data loss or leakage -- both accidental and intentional. And email is a conduit for sensitive data within organizations.

Regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare require demonstrable control over certain kinds of information and securing email is critical. "Email is a critical part of all our business processes and ensuring that every path sensitive data follows is secure and documented takes a lot of time and effort," says a vice president of a major financial services organization who was interviewed for this report.

Best-in-class organizations are doing a much better job in eliminating spam from the inboxes of their users, keeping them free from infection, and reducing data loss. Creating and enforcing acceptable use policies as well as training users in safe and acceptable email use are part of what's necessary to help organizations improve their email security.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part to support by the following underwriters: Websense, Google, Message Labs, and Vircom. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=5285.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

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