Study: IM and P2P pests on the rise

Joris Evers | June 9, 2005 12:46 AM PDT

Summary

Instant-messaging and peer-to-peer threats are not only becoming more frequent, they're taking on new guises, says security vendor Akonix.

Topics

Threats to instant messaging and peer-to-peer systems are on the rise, according to security vendor Akonix Systems. In May the company tracked 51 new IM and peer-to-peer threats, more than half the total it recorded for the first three months of the year, it said in a statement Tuesday.

The threats are not only more frequent, but attackers are increasingly morphing their software to circumvent security measures, Akonix said. There have been several variants of the Kelvir, Opanki and Oskabot worms durin May, the company pointed out. The latest statistics indicate that hackers are turning to IM, according to Akonix, which sells products that help protect organizations from IM attacks.

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