"Although the state has done a sufficient job at protecting against spam and e-mail viruses, we need to be more effective with our resources and take strong measures to develop consistency and maximize security throughout all of our departments," said Takai. "The e-hub design workshop was an effective way to bring together department stakeholders and work on a design solution that will update our approach to better safeguard the state's e-mail systems."
The workshop included eight state agencies working on technical plans to secure and protect the state's inbound, outbound and inter-departmental e-mail systems by implementing Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) gateways.
Led by Dale Jablonsky, an expert in enterprise architecture and the agency information officer for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the workshop was held on July 22 through 24.
When implemented, the e-hub will:
- Improve security and protection of the state's critical e-mail services;
- Reduce network load as e-mail filtering is performed at the enterprise network border;
- Implement consistent e-mail filtering services and technologies; and
- Establish a central point of administration.
The Workshop will reconvene in September for participants to finalize recommendations for a system design and complete a timeline for statewide implementation.