Aberdeen Report Shows Benefits of Managing Passwords More Effectively

Market Wire, April, 2008

A new research report on "Passwords, Privileged Passwords and Password Lifecycle Management" published by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), shows that organizations that manage all aspects of a password's lifecycle achieve significant productivity benefits.

Most companies struggle to achieve the optimal balance between enhancing the security of passwords on the one hand, and inadvertently creating additional inconveniences for end users on the other. Many companies continue to absorb the substantial hidden costs associated with managing passwords, while bemoaning the fact that passwords are insecure, inconvenient, and far from "free." This is why Best-in-Class organizations view password lifecycle management in the broader context of managing identities and access privileges to provide higher assurance for online identities. Top performers are taking passwords proactively under management, from initial request to final revocation.

"Poor performance at password lifecycle management translates to increased security risk, increased non-compliance risk, increased human error, and additional expense," said Derek E. Brink, vice president and research director for IT Security, Aberdeen. "On a simple but critical task such as password reset, top performance is measured in minutes as opposed to hours by the industry average."

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Beta Systems, e-DMZ Security, RoboForm, and RSA, the Security Division of EMC. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4660 .

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen(TM) for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com .

© 2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
 www.aberdeen.com 

Media Contact: Derek E. Brink Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5254 Derek.Brink@aberdeen.com