Kaspersky Lab announced Kaspersky Linux Mail Security, which can be integrated into a variety of Linux-based mail server configurations to fight spam and block malicious attachments.

One distinct feature of spam-related cybercrime is the “hit and run” nature of most attacks. When a wave of spam with new threats is first unleashed, approximately half of all its intended recipients receive the message in the first 10 minutes of the attack. This means security response times have to be just as fast. By linking Kaspersky Linux Mail Security with a Kaspersky Lab’s Urgent Detection System, customers receive updates to their anti-spam databases in minutes instead of hours.

The new protection technologies offered in Kaspersky Linux Mail Security include:

Exploit detection – Uses Kaspersky Lab’s ZETA Shield technology to block complex threats and targeted attacks that exploit new and unknown vulnerabilities in common software.

Attachment filter and format recognizer – Monitors and filters email attachments by their actual content, regardless of its declared file type or extension, and responds according to each company’s security policies, effectively blocking inappropriate email traffic (e.g., music files and videos) and potentially dangerous files (e.g., executable files).

Enforced anti-spam update service – Connects customers more directly than ever to Kaspersky Lab’s security experts to produce fast responses to malicious spam outbreaks.

Reputation-based spam filtering – Uses the global intelligence of Kaspersky Lab’s Urgent Detection System to categorize spam according to reputation, meaning variants of previously-identified spam attacks are automatically blocked without the need for analyst review.

New AV engine – Provides better anti-malware detection with reduced impact on system resources. In addition, it now includes an updatable heuristic analyzer to better combat new and unknown threats.

Kaspersky Linux Mail Security works as an anti-spam/anti-malware solution in conjunction with widely adopted Linux-based mail servers, including Postfix, Qmail, Sendmail, Communigate Pro and Exim. The new solution from Kaspersky Lab is also compatible with the AMaViS software bridge between a mail server and the anti-spam solution, which further expands compatibility with messaging platforms.

Other new features include support for IPv6, rich traffic management rules and the potential for integration with Active Directory and OpenLDAP. The automatic notification system and support for integration with third-party monitoring software keeps administrators informed about the security status of the mail system at all times.