With the ever-increasing complexity of systems and multiple modes of access to business information, security threats to every aspect of your enterprise are ever-present. New, more vicious viruses and worms are almost an everyday occurrence. Malcontented hackers intent on wreaking havoc on corporate networks appear to be working night and day. Threats originating from within an organisation are also commonplace.

Clearly, nothing short of 24/7 vigilance is required if disaster is to be averted. And with legislation shifting the responsibility and liability for information security in-house, few companies have the resources or the know-how to shoulder the burden alone. Although the value of e-mail to a company is undisputed, its presence brings a host of threats to network security and e-mail thus has major implications for business security such as transmission of confidential data, increased exposure to legal liability, infection by viruses, and reduced productivity due to employee e-mail abuse.

The Mail Firewall protects enterprises against these threats and allows for a clients IT and Information policies to be enforced. The solution is designed to minimise the e-mail traffic being received by a client from the Internet by blocking all unnecessary e-mail before it traverses the leased line. Comprehensive reporting of use and attempted abuse gives clients the ability to ensure policy compliance and best use of e-mail as a business tool.

All inbound and outbound e-mail passes through the Mail Firewall. The system allows for a number of checks to be made on the messages or attachments and filtering rules applied or changed. Virus checking and anti-SPAM measures are included. The service can be configured to block e-mail in a number of ways: based on size, type of attachment or even the text contained within the e-mail. In practice, the Mail Firewall has been shown to eliminate up to 60% of the inbound e-mail traffic, thus making bandwidth utilisation much more efficient.

The modern office with its extensive reliance on the Internet means it has become increasingly important to monitor and keep track of this potentially unproductive working environment. The challenge that HR departments face and that IT managers must support is how to enforce an Internet Acceptable Usage Policy within an organisation.

Flashnet Firewall is a unique custom built appliance for the South African market, allowing clients to perform firewalling, authentication, caching, proxying, URL (Web site) filtering, virus protection. The device � located on the clients network - permits management from a single interface and offers detailed reports to administrators. Hardware and software are incorporated into the service and managed by Flashnet. In addition, reporting provides administrators with valuable information on Web usage. Detailed pre-defined technical and management reports are emailed to designated individuals. Custom search features are available for detailed information.