Best practice for secure corporate messaging.

eema, the independent European association for e-business, has today announced the availability of its Secure Messaging Between Organisations report. Available to eema members and non-members, it explores Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and the alternative options that large companies and SMEs can employ to ensure security in electronic communications.

Messaging is an essential communication medium in most organisations, containing information ranging in sensitivity and confidentiality. Most users of messaging are not aware of the vulnerability of messages to both eavesdropping and impersonation. Companies that fail to take precautions to protect this information are exposing themselves to high risks, financially and corporately. The Secure Messaging Between Organisations report has been authored by the eema Messaging and Collaboration Interest Group to address these issues. This new eema report helps organisations and users identify alternative options for communicating information securely using store-and-forward solutions,' explains eema Messaging and Collaboration Interest Group Chairman and co-author of the report, Ralph Ehlers. 'Although S/MIME is recognised as the safest technology for securing email, the operation of a PKI, on which S/MIME is based, can be considered too costly and demanding for smaller organisations and also may not be justified even in a large organisation for messaging alone. Secure Messaging Between Organisations reviews the strengths and weaknesses of alternatve solutions in comparison to S/MIME. 'S/MIME is not necessarily the best choice for all kinds of requirements, which can be as diverse as e.g. SMEs sending a few highly confidential messages a day to changing business partners, a large organisaton sending bulk semi-confidential messages to its customers, or two close business partners routinely exchanging highly confidential information over a considerable time period.

www.eema.com