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Attacks on IM networks continue to rise

Researchers with Akonix Systems' Security Center said that they tracked the highest number of attacks on instant messenger (IM) networks in September than in any month of the year.

Experts with Akonix said that they kept tabs on 64 different types of attacks against IM networks this month. In total, these networks have seen a total of 237 types of attacks this year.

"This is clear evidence that IM threats are becoming as mainstream as email attacks," said Don Montgomery of Akonix. "This trend shows we are heading for more IM security trouble in the future, yet there are still companies that are unprotected from the latest IM vulnerabilities."

New worms identified include Licat, Sohanat, Yautoit, AutoIt, IMNames and Xrobots. Vanebot was the most common with five variants, followed by Sdbot, with 4. However, attacks on P2P networks such as Kazaa and eDonkey, decreased from 36 in August to 21 this month.

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