IT security software provider Surety, LLC has results of the 2008 Email Security and Authentication Survey. The survey, which included more than 800 IT security, email security and compliance professionals, revealed significant concerns about email content security and the preservation of emails for litigation, including the following surprising takeaways:

More than 65 percent of respondents lack confidence that their organization's email records would be admitted as evidence in legal, regulatory or patent disputes;

More than 80 percent of respondents are concerned about their ability to authenticate email records and attachments; and

More than 50 percent of respondents remain unclear on new regulations and legal expectations related to email authentication, including e-discovery.

The survey of more than 800 IT security, email security and compliance professionals revealed that 65 percent of respondents lack confidence that their organization's email records would be admitted as authenticated evidence in legal, regulatory or patent disputes.

The survey further revealed that more than 80 percent of respondents are concerned about their ability to authenticate email records and attachments and more than 50 percent of respondents remain unclear on new regulations and legal expectations related to email authentication.

"During a time when courts have set forth clear expectations for the authentication of electronically stored information (ESI), including email, it is troubling to learn that nearly half of IT professionals responsible for preserving email records are not fully aware of these requirements," said Timothy Carroll, Partner, Vedder Price P.C. "These findings underscore why so many organizations are turning to content security solutions such as trusted time-stamping to preserve the integrity of their electronic records throughout the chain of custody."

"Courts are wise to the ease with which electronic records can be manipulated," said Tom Klaff, CEO of Surety, LLC. "High profile cases such as In re Vin Vinhnee and Lorraine v. Markel relate the expectation that electronic records be retained in their original state without alteration. The inability to irrefutably establish that your electronic records and its associated metadata have not been deleted or altered can be costly. These survey findings relate the necessity for IT professionals and legal teams to work together to deploy solutions that ensure litigation-readiness."

Other findings in Surety's the 2008 Email Security and Authentication Survey include:

*    Email retains its position as the most critical enterprise application. Seventy-one percent of respondents indicated that their organization's use email to share information on a wide range of business-critical data, including documents related to company financial information, human resources and Intellectual Property (IP) and contracts with external parties.

*    Email takes center stage during e-discovery and during litigation. Nearly one-third of respondents indicate that their companies have been required to produce email during e-discovery requests and their email records have been used during litigation.

*    Many organizations have been slow to implement appropriate email storage and content security solutions. According to the survey, 48 percent of respondents do not have tools in place to store emails in their original form in a manner that does not leave them susceptible to tampering.

*    Wide-variety of corporate initiatives drive adoption of email authentication solutions. Regulatory compliance, e-discovery concerns, risk avoidance and internal policies mandating improved security represent the top drivers for the adoption of authentication solutions.

Full findings for Surety's 2008 Email Security and Authentication Survey are available at www.surety.com/images/whitepapers/Surety_EmailSecuritySurvey_2008.pdf.

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted by eMedia USA on behalf of Surety between April 8 and April 23, 2008, and included 808 IT security, email security and compliance professionals.