E-mail protection got taken up a few notches after IronPort Systems unveiled significant updates to its M-Series security management appliance.
Altogether, the upgrades include enhancements to its interactive reporting features, unique message tracking capabilities and built-in data loss prevention functions in a solution that spans the market segments.
IronPort execs say that the single platform device is geared for the messaging administrator, whose evolving role requries constant innovation to deal with the exponential rise of e-mail based security threats.
"The role of this person has changed so significantly, and there is a need for tools to do his or her job more effectively," said Abhay Rajaram, senior product manager at IronPort. "Suddenly he has had to deal with volumes significantly higher than before -- that kind of threat continues to grow in sophistication."
Specifically, the single-interface appliance features centralized e-mail reporting, including interactive actionable reports designed to help customers monitor emerging threats and analyze security trends. Reports can be customized to the customer's desired frequency and tailor-made to accommodate corporate requirements.
In addition, the device includes centralized message tracking, in order to follow and log e-mails for troubleshooting and auditing purposes.
It also contains built-in data loss prevention capabilities, providing detailed information on policy violations, filter matches and user activity, including 70 years worth of detailed reports covering hundred of millions of e-mails. The device enables users to view all policy triggers, or drill down to a particular policy, to determine frequency of violations within a particular timeframe, as well as who triggered them, Rajaram said.
"You get a very, very extensive view which way you want to slice and dice the data," said Rajaram. "Having this level of long term visibility and control allows a person under siege to quickly respond to a CIO, or respond for trend analysis."
IronPort execs say that the appliance provides a solution for the increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyber threats that are targeting all market segments, including midtier and SMB spaces. In addition, the device also addresses the growing pressures companies face in adhering to federal legislation governing data loss disclosure policies.
"Having this long term visibility over those policies does in fact address the need for a very broad customer base," said Rajaram. "At the end of the day, mail volumes are rising for everyone."
