Attacks on messaging networks soar

The growing popularity of instant messaging among businesses and consumers has drawn the attention of malware writers looking to move beyond e-mail for new targets, according to messaging-security specialist IMlogic.

The company's threat center, which tracks instant-messaging activity, reports an eye-popping 3,295 percent hike in the number of instant-messaging and file-sharing worms in the third quarter of 2005, compared with the year-ago quarter. The year-to-date increase is 2,083 percent.

The report suggests that the increasing popularity of consumer instant-messaging networks, combined with the proliferation of enterprise-messaging systems, continues to drive messaging as a popular new medium for attacks. Adding to the problem is that the attacks against these networks are becoming more sophisticated, with 87 percent of reported incidents caused by instant-message worms that require no human intervention to spread.

CATEGORIES: 1IM, 1instant messaging, 1vendor, 1stats, 1report