One supplier, Symantec, is touting its next Internet Security package as the first product of its kind to scan files attached to instant messages as they come onto the server.
David Hall, southern region consumer account manager for Symantec told ZDNet Australia the enhancement is demand driven. "People are really beginning to understand the threat," he said. "A lot of people are concerned about it."
Instant Messaging (IM) programs provides people with a way to download files, effectively creating a hole in the corporate firewall, according to AMR Interactive analyst Jason Ross. He said that currently 16 percent of people at work use some form of Instant Messaging program, and that this is expected to increase to 50 percent by 2005.
"It's a real issue for systems administrators because it's another access point," said Ross.
Andrew Hennell, the president of Sage, the Systems Administrators Guild of Australia, agreed that IM programs posed a security threat. "Anything that can scan these actively as content is coming in is a good thing," said Hennell. He said this technology removed a potential argument against the use of IM software.
"If there is a business case and a product such as this could ensure its safety [IM use] would be opened wider," said Hennell. "There are many business cases where IM is effective, replacing situations currently dominated by e-mail, where the immediacy of IM is desirable."
The Symantec product protects users of Microsoft Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger. According to Ross, over 55 percent of the online Australian population use one of these products. However ICQ, the second most common IM program in Australia used by 20 percent of the online population, is not protected.
really scrapping the barrel if you are getting quotes from SAGE hahaha