Threat increases from IM-based attacks
A study released by instant messaging (IM) security vendor, IMlogic, reported that hackers and virus writers are recognizing and exploiting the opportunites presented by IM-based attacks, the numbers of which have risen sharply over the last two quarters.
The number of IM attacks such as viruses, worms, and phishing scams had increased from 20 for all of 2004 to 571 in the second quarter of 2005 alone, representing an increased threat to both enterprise users and the average consumer, the study said.
The study - performed by the IMlogic Threat Center with the support of IT security companies Symantec, McAfee, and Sybari as well as IM leaders America Online, Yahoo, and Microsoft - reported that 70 per cent of IM-based attacks target public IM networks and 30 per cent target enterprises.
“IM usage has reached critical mass and virus writers have now recognised it as a mostly undefended medium,” IMlogic chief executive officer and co-founder, Francis deSouza, said. “These [viruses and worms] are mutating, high velocity, and invisible to most companies until they hit. All these factors combine to create a serious risk.”
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