Attacks via IM Go up and Are Likely to Increase Further

Analysts at Akonix, a San Diego-based firm, say that over 400 hostile moves, of which 41 were new attacks, were detected on Instant Messenger (IM) platforms in 2006. This was a record for any year and marks a growth of 15 percent over the figure of 347 for 2005. In 2004, the firm's security analysts found less than 50 attacks that were implemented either through IM or peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies.

However, it seems that attacks coming through P2P networks are on the wane. The analysts found a decrease of 11 per cent in this kind of attacks in the month of December 2006. Only 16 such threats were discovered.

Don Montgomery of Akonix says that trojans and worms can propagate at a faster pace on IM platforms just by carrying themselves to all people in a user's friends' list. He adds that the spread of such malware is many times quicker than e-mail since the typical IM user is likely to have at least 30 buddies. This leads to "six degrees of separation" with malware that can reach almost the entire world. The company foresaw such growth since IM is undoubtedly a platform for taking vicious code anywhere in the world. The attacks have also become more refined. Montgomery further states that the hostile actions were distributed equally among the AOL, Yahoo, MSN and ICQ messaging vectors.

The firm also anticipates that the overwhelming IM concern for businesses in 2007 will be an increased degree of risk handling, which will cover vigilance, conformity, e-discovery and corporate accountability for electronic communications.

Peter Shaw, the company's CEO, says that for 2007 they are forecasting a clear compulsion on the part of companies to take steps against the hazards and responsibilities they might encounter on account of the use of IM in the workplace. A number of factors will combine to make for a situation where organizations must do something to ward off multi-million dollar risks. These factors include modifications to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and current records retention regulations, accountability for improper use by employees, and the threat of network crashes from hacker incursions.

Related article: Attacks On IM And Chinese Malware On The Rise

» SPAMfighter News - 1/10/2007