McAfee, Inc. Finds Top Businesses Unprepared When It Comes to Data Pro

RSA CONFERENCE, SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McAfee, Inc. , the pioneer and worldwide leader of intrusion prevention solutions, today announced findings from research, which shows that senior IT decision makers in large corporations worldwide are unaware of their responsibilities under government regulation when it comes to email security. The research also reveals the extent to which many organizations are failing to filter and block inappropriate content from entering and leaving their corporate networks. This announcement was made today at the RSA 2005 Conference in San Francisco.

The research was commissioned by McAfee to examine the attitudes of large corporations globally towards Secure Content Management and conducted by TNS IT & Telecoms Research Group in 12 countries across four continents.

Over Half (52%) of those questioned admitted that they are unaware of their responsibilities when it comes to email security under local government regulations, such as Sarbannes-Oxley, HIPPA and the Data Protection Act, potentially leaving themselves open to lawsuits and even prosecution. One in three companies questioned do not know whether they will have to adhere to government regulations in the future, revealing the continued need for education in this area.

Awareness of obligations under government regulation is strongest in the UK, USA and Brazil. Three quarters of those questioned in the UK are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to email security under the Data Protection Act. Sixty-seven percent of US businesses are aware of their obligations under laws such as Sarbannes-Oxley and HIPPA. Of those surveyed, 60% are aware that they will have to adhere to government regulatory policies in the future.

Awareness among businesses located in many European countries is limited despite the existence of the EU Data Protection Directive. Only 26% of those questioned in the Netherlands are aware of their obligations, 37% in France and 41% in Germany. Spanish and Italian businesses faired slightly better with 47% and 45% respectively aware of their responsibilities.

The McAfee research also reveals that many organizations are potentially leaving themselves open to legal action and employee lawsuits by failing to filter certain types of content from email entering and leaving their network. While the majority of those questioned believe they have an obligation to protect employees from receiving offensive material, many do not have the solutions in place to block offensive content. Only 52% of those questioned block racist content and 54% block sexist emails. A business could be liable for employee emails with either racist, sexist or pornographic content.

"This research shows that there is clearly a need for further education among senior IT decision makers when it comes to their obligations under government regulation," said Steve Crutchfield, director of product marketing for McAfee Inc. "The consequences of not complying with these regulations are extremely serious for any business. With McAfee Secure Content Management solutions, organizations can gain peace of mind that their corporate messaging security policy is being enforced and the business is compliant with government regulation."

McAfee currently offers customers multi-layered protection with its wide range of McAfee Secure Content Management Solutions: McAfee(R) Active Mail Protection, McAfee WebShield(R) and SpamKiller(R) appliances, McAfee SecurityShield(TM), McAfee PortalShield(TM) and McAfee Managed Mail Protection. These solutions can be installed across multiple network areas including the gateway, mail server, application server and as a managed service. For additional information on McAfee Secure Content Management solutions, please visit http://www.mcafee.com/ .

Survey Methodology:

To accomplish the research objectives, a Web-based survey was conducted by TNS IT & Telecoms research group. Respondents were required to be IT professionals, involved in messaging technology or email security for companies with at least 250 employees. A total of 630 interviews were conducted across 12 markets from 4 continents, between October and December of 2004.

About McAfee, Inc.

McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., a worldwide leader in intrusion prevention and risk management solutions, delivers proven security products and services to help customers effectively balance the competing priorities between business needs and security requirements. McAfee applies profound security expertise toward helping companies, government agencies and consumers block attacks, prevent disruptions, and continuously track and improve the security of their systems and networks. This risk management approach results in absolute confidence. For more information, McAfee, Inc. can be reached at 972-963-8000 or http://www.mcafee.com/.

NOTE: McAfee, SpamKiller, SecurityShield, WebShield, PortalShield and Foundstone are either registered trademarks or trademarks of McAfee, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. The color red in connection with security is distinctive of McAfee brand products. All other registered and unregistered trademarks herein are the sole property of their respective owners.