Report: IM Networks More Vulnerable Than Ever

San Diego, Calif. - According to a recent report issued by San Diego-based messaging security developer Akonix Systems Inc., some 25 new viruses were reported on corporate IM networks during the month of September.

Akonix Systems' Security Center team tracked the highest monthly total of new threats ever recorded, said the company.

"The Akonix Q3 Threat Report findings are a wake up call for organizations, showing that on average more than one IM attack takes place per day," said Francis Costello, chief technology officer at Akonix Systems. "It's critical that businesses secure their network from these potential threats, which are becoming more sophisticated by the day. In order to receive the business benefits offered by real-time communications, enterprises must ensure they are protected and in control of both public and enterprise IM systems, as well as P2P use on their corporate network."

The Q3 report tracked several new findings, including a new phase in the sophistication of the social engineering efforts used by IM virus writers to target unsuspecting IM users. August marked the first month in which a virus queried the configuration of the client software to determine the language setting and then sent a message in the language of that client. September also witnessed an 'international' virus with the "Mete" worm, which sent its messages in Spanish. In addition, the number of attacks on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are continuing to rise with a total of 44 new threats in Q3, a 9% increase from Q2 2005.

According to Osterman Research, a Black Diamond, Wash., messaging and analyst firm, more than 90% of organizations in North America currently have some instant messaging use in their networks and, by the end of 2005, Osterman Research anticipates that about one-third of all corporate email users in the workplace will also be using IM.

Source: Akonix

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Core systems Policy adminstration Workforce management
MORE FROM DIGITAL INSURANCE