Spammers are targeting instant messaging services

E-mail is no longer very convenient for spamming activities - the development of garbage filtering prevents it. Therefore, spammers focus on virtually defenseless IM services. In a sense, IM is the Achilles heel of corporate networks whose users access AOL , Google or Yahoo , Internet Week reports .

“IM spam is potentially much more dangerous,” says Michael Osterman, president of Osterman Research Inc. - The probability that a person will follow the link suggested by IM is higher. In spam e-mail provocations are less likely. " When the user is taken on a hook by malicious software, his entire contact list is infected. The progression comes out geometric, although spammers are somewhat hampered by the need to obtain authorization from the user.

So far the number of victims that have become such through IM is still insignificant. “This is a relatively minor problem today,” says Osterman. “It’s nothing compared to the scale of spam e-mail .” Postini Inc. Specialists , a California-based Internet company that filters IM traffic, confirms that spam via IM is not too common. But its growth rate is truly dramatic.
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The company processed 7.5 million instant messages last month and blocked 0.26% of them as containing worms and viruses. This is more than twice the number of filtered messages in June 2006, when they were 0.10%. At the same time, the collection of malicious programs is growing, from 2004 to 2005. it increased 17 times, including 2,400 “titles.” According to Postini's bad forebodings, this year these figures will surpass those of last year.

The company has a lot of customers around the world. But there could be more. Andrew Lochart, Postini's marketing director, believes that one of the reasons for the rise in IM infections is ignorance of the problem and lack of business attention to it. “Many executives are not even aware that their employees have downloaded and used IM clients.”

"There is not a single specialized IM client for corporations," says Andrew, winking at startups. “There are only global AOL, Google or Yahoo.” Meanwhile, instant messaging services are increasingly involved in the work of specialists.