Financial services firms are the main adopters of managed e-mail security services, according to MessageLabs, which now counts the financial sector as its leading customer base.
In October alone, one in every 119 e-mails to financial services firms in the US contained a virus and one in every 1.8 was spam, according to MessageLabs. Globally, on average one in every 126 e-mails contained a virus and one in every 2.4 messages was spam.
Mark Sunner, chief technology officer of MessageLabs, says: "With mandated electronic communication storage and auditing requirements, these companies (financial firms) are also looking for ways to eliminate spam - which now accounts for more than 50% of e-mail traffic."
He says 400 financial firms are currently using MessageLab's e-mail security services to protect against viruses and spam and to comply with SEC, NASD, LSE and FSA auditing regulations, as well as other federal laws.
The MessageLabs service analyses e-mail to identify and intercept unsolicited or virus-bearing messages.