Press Releases & Announcements

PureMessage Protects Enterprises from Dangerous New Threat

Software Identifies Combined Spam and Virus Propagation Techniques

VANCOUVER, BC, 08/27/2003

ActiveState,� the leader in enterprise email management software, is successfully protecting large enterprises by identifying and stopping a new and growing threat to corporate networks: spam-based, email-borne viruses. Last week, the Sobig family of worms was the fastest and most widespread virus deployment to date, signaling a dangerous new trend in the convergence of virus and spam techniques. As a result, email management software that can catch both incoming and outgoing spam at the email gateway is more business-critical than ever. Using PureMessage� by ActiveState, customers such as Developers Diversified Realty Corp (DDRC), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages approximately 400 retail operating and development properties, were able to successfully block the Sobig-F virus, just like any other unwanted spam message. Roy Dew, DDRC's director of technology, elaborates, "There are companies--rather large companies--who have experienced major downtime with the recent rash of viruses. We have escaped unscathed. Last week, our PureMessage server quarantined over 8,000 email messages with viruses in a 30-hour period. It paid for itself in just two days." How Virus Writers and Spammers Work Together The latest virus outbreaks (Sobig, DA-Downloader) have a common element: the ability to download and install arbitrary software on the infected machine. This could allow a virus writer to install open proxy or webserver software on thousands of machines, creating a hidden network that can be used to deliver more spam or host their destination sites. When also carrying a virus, spam messages can have a debilitating effect on a corporate network in minutes, and are extremely difficult to contain. Up to 70% of spam is now sent through open proxy servers (servers that don't require a password or login), allowing the creation of hundreds of thousands of virus copies that can't be traced back to the actual sender. A proxy is a spammer's preferred tool because it provides anonymity, enabling messages to evade less sophisticated spam filters that rely on source blocking techniques only. To a lesser extent, proxies also allow spammers to avoid identification and/or prosecution from local or state authorities. How to Protect Corporate Networks PureMessage's gateway filtering technology builds on source blocking to safely identify spam through a unique combination of heuristics, spam directories, spam signatures, and learning algorithms. Security policies trap suspect activities potentially caused by unidentified viruses. For example, an enterprise can create a policy that prohibits more than 50 outbound messages from a single user during the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Combined with gateway and desktop virus filtering, corporations can prevent all virus threats from entering and infecting corporate networks. Sophos Anti-Virus, from leading enterprise anti-virus provider, Sophos, integrates with PureMessage to provide a fully integrated anti-spam and anti-virus solution. "There are now computers openly scanning the Internet for open relays so spammers and virus authors can jump from one machine to the next," said Gary Thomassen, head of product management at Sophos. "The ability to combine Sophos's anti-virus technology with PureMessage offers IT the assurance that they are protected not just against current viruses and malicious code, but future variants as well." Giga Research warns that many organizations have a false sense of security, assuming that their firewall will stop this type of attack from being exploited. The reality is that firewall defenses are not enough--what about the road warrior or home office worker who gets hit with a virus on the road and then connects to the corporate network? Giga reports that we are now firmly into an era of "blended" threats that incorporate multiple propagation techniques, and note the challenge of detecting new viruses, or variants of known viruses, that have increasingly been identified using heuristic techniques. They recommend businesses keep an eye on the evolution of detection capabilities, particularly heuristics. "Problems surrounding email security today lie partly with businesses that have not yet instituted bullet-proof network security. Spam won't ultimately be stopped until businesses take responsibility both for what comes into and what leaves their network," said Jesse Dougherty, director of development, ActiveState. "Last week's events underscore the need for every business to take a two-pronged approach to email security through a combination of powerful anti-spam and anti-virus solutions." About PureMessage PureMessage by ActiveState is a server-based email filtering solution providing spam and virus protection, and enabling the creation and enforcement of other email hygiene policies for inbound and outbound messages. PureMessage safely identifies and quarantines spam using a combination of heuristics, spam directories, and spam signatures, delivering the most effective spam filtering with low IT administration and end-user effort. PureMessage supports AIX, HP-UX, FreeBSD, Linux, and Solaris. More details are available at: www.ActiveState.com/PureMessage. About ActiveState Corp. ActiveState enables enterprises and IT professionals to increase productivity and organizational efficiency. PureMessage by ActiveState empowers organizations to take control of their email communications by protecting against spam and viruses, and enforcing email policy. Additional information on ActiveState's industrial strength anti-spam software for enterprises and professional tools for programmers is available at: www.ActiveState.com. Media & Analyst Inquiries: Lori Pike, ActiveState 604.808.6655 Katey Stewart, Horn Group 415.905.4019 ActiveState and PureMessage are trademarks of ActiveState Corp. All other company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. � ActiveState Corporation 2003.