Akonix Security Center Publishes IM Threat Watch for February 2006; Marks the First Time a Worm Was Developed to Spread via Ins

Akonix Systems, the premier provider of instant messaging (IM) security solutions, today announced its Security Center (www.imsecuritycenter.com) team tracked 12 attacks against IM networks in February. This month saw the first ever IM worm spread via instant messaging on the Apple OS X platform.

Attacks during February seemed to go into hibernation while researchers announced that the recent WMF exploit had been sold underground before security experts could patch the OS. Although the threats to IM networks decreased this month, Akonix feels that virus writers are becoming more creative and motivated by financial gain, as shown with the WMF vulnerability. New worms identified in February include Lepo, Lamo and Imav. The most common attack was the Opanki virus, which had three variants of the original virus, which was first identified in June 2005.

Overall, Akonix security analysts issued a total of three new security policy updates, using the industry's only dynamic IM malware, spim and protocol update system. This automatically pushes updates to customers and blocks worms and viruses in real-time at the network perimeter.

"Although IM threats were down this month, companies need to be aware that we view this as a temporary lull in activity and that the threats are going to get more malicious and sophisticated with time," said Don Montgomery, vice president of marketing at Akonix Systems. "February saw the first ever worm spread over IM networks using the Apple OS X platform. This speaks to the increased sophistication and ways that virus writers are trying to develop worms for different networks and operating systems. Companies need to know that unless they currently have an IM security solution in place, they are leaving their networks open to security attacks."

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. Detailed information about the February 2006 IM Threat Report can be found at www.imsecuritycenter.com.

For more information on how Akonix solutions ensure networks are protected against the security risks of unmanaged IM and P2P use, please visit www.akonix.com, call 619-615-9415 or email sales@akonix.com.

About Akonix

Akonix is the most deployed IM security product in the world, enabling Global 1000 companies to deploy productive, enterprise-wide IM that is secure, compliant and managed.

Over one million global users across hundreds of organizations in the Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Technology, Healthcare and Entertainment industries use Akonix solutions. With more than 20 patent applications, Akonix's award-winning products provide the industry's only automatically-updated protection to block worms and viruses and malware for both enterprise and public IM systems. Akonix has certified partnerships with all leading IM and presence providers including America Online(R), Microsoft, Yahoo!, Reuters, IBM, Parlano, Antepo and Bloomberg.

An IM industry first, the Akonix Security Center (www.imsecuritycenter.com) provides real-time information about worms, viruses and other vulnerabilities that target IM and P2P networks. The company issues monthly and quarterly IM threat watch reports to track key trends and vulnerabilities.

For further information on the company, please visit: www.akonix.com.