Akonix Security Center Publishes IM Threat Watch for April 2006; Attacks Have Increased Almost 18,000% since 2004

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) team tracked 26 attacks against IM networks in April, the largest number of threats this year, surpassing the previous high of 18 in January 2006.

Further research from the Security Center revealed that the increase in IM threats between January 2004 and January 2006 was 17,933%. Since Akonix first started tracking IM threats in January 2004, the company has protected its customers from a total of 578 new IM threats.

New worms identified in April include VB-ATA, Skenkly, Gaixinh and IMFlood. The most common attack was the MYTOB virus, which had three variants of the original virus. Overall, Akonix security analysts issued a total of five 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.

"There was a lull in IM attacks during the first few months of this year, but our security researchers are finding that virus writers are at it again," said Don Montgomery, vice president of marketing at Akonix Systems. "The frequency of these worms catches many companies off guard, but our customers are proactively protected with automatic updates. IT administrators have enough to worry about, so by deploying Akonix, they can feel confident that their networks are protected from IM 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 April 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. You can also see Akonix at Microsoft TechEd at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, Massachusetts, June 11-16. Companies interested in testing out Akonix products can receive a free 30-day evaluation of its A6000 and A1000 IM security appliances at www.akonix.com/eval.

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.