Postini, a Google property, has updated its services to include automatic content-based encryption of sensitive emails.

Senior Product Manager Adam Swidler of Google also divulged intentions to expand Postini's compliance and security services to blogs, instant messages and wikis, according to CMSWire.

The Postini update includes:

• Advanced analysis and reporting tools for tracking incoming and outgoing messages
• Auto-encrypt capabilities for emails, or attachments, that include credit card or social security numbers
• "Zero hour" threat detection
• Advanced message archive management

In particular, advanced message archive management may prove a boon to companies plagued by eDiscovery concerns.

eDiscovery law requires that enterprises maintain traceable records of all correspondence pertaining to their business or occurring on business outlets — including emails, text messages and other slippery electronic data — in the event of a lawsuit.

Arranging compliance to these requirements have given birth to myriad email and digital asset management tools.

Contextual email security seems a natural progression for Google, which is credited with bringing contextual advertising — in the form of AdSense and AdWords — to the forefront.

The Postini update will be free to Google Apps Premier users and standalone Postini customers.