IM Attacks Spike Nearly 200 Percent in One Month

San Diego, CA – August 28, 2006 – Akonix Systems, the provider of the most deployed instant messaging (IM) security and compliance products in the world, today announced its Security Center (www.imsecuritycenter.com) researchers tracked 47 attacks against IM networks in August, a rise of 194 percent since July 2006. IM networks have experienced a total of 173 attacks so far this year.

MSN received the most network attacks this month. New worms identified include Braban, Cuebot, Appflet, Shufa and BKDR_MSNMAKER. Cuebot and Braban were the most common – with three variants each, followed by Applflet with two. In addition, attacks on P2P networks such as Kazaa and eDonkey, continued with 36 new attacks this month.

Overall, Akonix security analysts issued a total of nine new policy updates, using the industry’s only dynamic IM malware, spim and protocol update system. This automatically pushes updates to customers and blocks spyware, worms and viruses in real time at the network perimeter. Akonix customers were secure on day zero from each new threat with the deep protection and containment features of Akonix’s 360° Security for Real-Time Communications™.

“The recurring trend is that worms and spyware attacks on IM increase immediately following the publication of an operating system vulnerability,” said Don Montgomery, VP of marketing at Akonix. “IM worms are now more sophisticated than ever, even featuring remote control capabilities and criminal intent. IT managers need to take action to address these security issues in order to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences.”

The Akonix Security Center is a collaborative effort between Akonix’s internal security group, enterprise customer security teams and industry leading partners in IM infrastructure and security. It focuses on the emerging security threats posed by IM and P2P applications in the corporate environment, and is the foundation of the early detection layer of 360° Security. Detailed information about the July 2006 IM Threat Report can be found at www.imsecuritycenter.com.

For more information on how 360° Security from Akonix ensures networks guard against the security risks of unmanaged IM and P2P use, please visit www.akonix.com/360, call 619-615-9415 or email sales@akonix.com. Companies interested in putting Akonix products to work protecting their networks can receive a free 30-day evaluation of A6000 and A1000 IM security appliances at eval.akonix.com.

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Amanda Coolong

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