IM users face having private information stolen - or worse - but experts agree security risks can be minimised
SECURITY CHALLENGES posed by instant messaging tools such as those offered by AOL, Yahoo and MSN have left information technology administrators wringing their hands. But security software vendors say the situation is far from being out of control, as long as the right measures are in place.
Instant messaging software is used by nearly 400 million global users, according to a recent report by Symantec's IMlogic Threat Centre. And research firm Gartner predicts that instant messaging will replace about 40 per cent of e-mail traffic and reduce phone and travel expenses by about 20 per cent over the next couple of years.
While instant messaging tools offer benefits such as increased productivity, lower communications costs and faster decision making, they can leave computer systems open to a myriad of security threats.
The most common ones, according to Michael Chue, managing director of Symantec Hong Kong, include worms and Trojan horses, denial-of-service attacks and privacy intrusion.
Using messaging software, hackers can install a Trojan horse into the computer of an unsuspecting victim, allowing them to reconfigure the system to allow access to all files via peer-to-peer file sharing. Ultimately, instant messaging software could allow hackers to circumnavigate a network's security layers, leaving it open to attack.