With the every-growing popularity of IM programs and the services they provide, it is no mystery that malware will be using it more both as a propagation technique and an infection mechanism. Using IM services has been very popular in the past for malware and hackers, and it is only going to get worse as time progresses.

With 41 new attacks carried out during the month of December alone, 2006 proved to be a significant growth year for threats distributed over instant messaging systems.According to a new research report produced by security software maker Akonix Systems, in San Diego, experts at the company unearthed some 406 new IM-borne threats over the last 12 months, compared with 347 attacks tracked by the company in 2005.

In 2004 the company’s security analysts discovered just under 50 attacks that were carried out either via IM or peer-to-peer technologies.

However, attacks delivered via P2P networks appear to be falling in popularity, as Akonix researchers recorded an 11 percent decrease in that type of threat during December 2006, with only 16 such attacks reported for the month. Akonix traditionally reports its research of IM and P2P threats simultaneously.[more]

Tags: Malware