Mirapoint Re-Defines Email Security With Mailhurdle Technology
Mirapoint, a proven leader in email server and security appliances for enterprise and service provider customers, has announced MailHurdle, the industry’s most effective, resource-efficient approach for blocking spam and virus threats directly at the network edge. Available as part of Mirapoint’s comprehensive Full-Spectrum email security technology, MailHurdle is further evidence of Mirapoint’s messaging expertise and technology leadership with its email security appliance product family, including the Mirapoint Message Director and RazorGate appliances.
Most available solutions today use complex CPU-intensive analytic methods that require the email gateway to accept a message into the network before any security protection is applied. This exposes organisations to unnecessary risk from malicious content, wastes processor and network resources, and often jeopardises the core email server, as well as slows normal mail delivery.
In comparison, Mirapoint’s MailHurdle technology addresses message traffic at the SMTP-layer first to block and drop unwanted SMTP connections right at the network edge. This approach has been proven in internal tests to cut out 80 percent of the unwanted traffic before any resources are wasted. Once MailHurdle is done executing, the remaining 20 percent of traffic is analysed through Mirapoint’s integrated, multi-layered spam and virus filtering techniques, yielding cumulative catch-rates in excess of 98 percent.
“Many gateways permit a large majority of malicious traffic into the network before taking any preventative security measures. This is like a home security system that lets the bad guys inside and then tries to figure out what to do about it,” said Barry Ariko, chief executive officer & chairman at Mirapoint. “The new MailHurdle technology builds on Mirapoint’s legacy as a messaging expert and pioneer in the email security appliance market by changing the playing field and focusing on the highest possible block-rates and security protection right at the network edge.”
Powerful SMTP-Layer Security, Only From Messaging Expert Mirapoint MailHurdle is one of many powerful SMTP-layer security features integrated within Mirapoint appliances and works by only accepting email from RFC-compliant SMTP servers or gateways exhibiting standard protocol behaviour. To provide customers more flexibility, Mirapoint has added a recipient white list feature that can be configured to exempt just a specific user or set of users from MailHurdle processing. Furthermore, Mirapoint’s “trusted host” feature ensures email from specific administrator-defined domains never gets blocked by MailHurdle. In addition, Mirapoint provides the following SMTP-layer security features:
Directory harvest protection: Employs a recipient check of incoming email to ensure it is a valid recipient address. If the recipient check does not match up (often a sign of a directory harvest attack) and continued activity from a specific address is identified, Mirapoint will automatically throttle back SMTP-layer activity and identify this address for future blocking. In addition, messages with invalid recipients are dropped at the edge of the network, resulting in no processing overhead.
Sender as valid recipient: Verifies legitimate email senders and prevents the forging of email from inside an organisation’s network, for example in ISP or university environments, where email address ‘spoofing’ may be an issue.
Email behaviour analysis techniques: At the SMTP layer, Mirapoint looks for unusual or non-RFC compliant activity and accordingly alerts administrator or blocks connection. For example, unusual SMTP connections without appropriate HELO information can be identified as potential threat and throttled or blocked.
Connection management: Mirapoint offers complex intelligence for managing all incoming and outgoing SMTP activity, as well as other protocol activity (like POP and IMAP) and will respond to unusual or abusive behaviour that might signify a threat (like unusually high SMTP activity from single address that could be a spammer). The administrator can be alerted, throttle back the connection, and even block the connection if a pre-determined threshold is reached.
“Mirapoint’s new MailHurdle is an effective defense against spam by addressing it at the network edge before it enters the network,” said Sara Radicati of Radicati Group. “This practical and efficient approach to the spam problem conserves bandwidth and reduces the load on anti-spam filtering processors, separating Mirapoint from other email security companies whose filtering methods tie up precious network resources.”
About Mirapoint Appliances
Designed to complement an existing email server, the Mirapoint Message Director provides multi-layered security protection at the network edge to block hackers, spam, and virus threats, as well as provide advanced management of message traffic through policy enforcement tools, content filters, and detailed reporting. For small- to medium-sized businesses or for highly distributed organisations, Mirapoint also offers the RazorGate line of email security appliances that employ the same industrial-strength technology as the Message Director and can be deployed to secure and protect any existing email server.
The Mirapoint Message Server is the industry’s only dedicated appliance that integrates email routing, storage, access and management with Mirapoint’s comprehensive, multi-layered Full-Spectrum email security technology. The Message Server is designed to support any enterprise, service provider, government or education customer trying to deliver email to a broad base of users that demand anytime, anywhere access to carrier-grade email services.
Pricing and Availability
MailHurdle is available in the latest version of Mirapoint’s Messaging Operating Software (MOS) version 3.5 and can be deployed on any of Mirapoint’s email server or security appliances. Customers can take advantage of the new MailHurdle feature, as well as related SMTP-layer security capabilities, by purchasing license keys from Mirapoint. For more information, please contact Mirapoint at 001-800-937-8118 or info@mirapoint.com.
About Mirapoint
Mirapoint is a leader in solutions for message networks used by service provider, enterprise, education and government institutions. Customers use Mirapoint solutions, including the new line of RazorGate email security appliances, to build message networks that intelligently and securely route, store, access and manage Internet messages, including email. Mirapoint is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For more information on Mirapoint, visit its Web site at www.mirapoint.com