A University of Indianapolis business professor says the warnings major companies are circulating about the email breach through Epsilon should be taken seriously.

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Dr. Darrell Bowman teaches courses on information systems and speculates an Epsilon employee may have opened a tainted email on a work account allowing the data breach.

Epsilon handles email marketing for thousands of companies including Walgreens, Citibank, Best Buy, JP Morgan Chase and Kroger. The company, based in Irving, Texas, says only customer names and e-mail addresses were exposed.

Bowman says opening an email when you are uncertain of its origin is like inviting a stranger into your home without checking their background.

He says while companies like Epsilon have the latest technology for information security, the most vulnerable part of any company is the employee email.

Bowman says while an email address doesn't pose as much of a risk as a social security number, any unauthorized release of personal information can have serious repercussions.