Akonix Records Highest Number of IM Attacks in 2006

San Diego, CA - September 28, 2006 - 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) researchers tracked 64 attacks against IM networks during the month of September, the most IM threats recorded in 2006. IM networks have experienced a total of 237 attacks this year.

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.

Overall, Akonix security analysts issued a total of nine new policy updates, using the industry’s only dynamic IM malware, spim and protocol update system. This automatically pushes updates to customers and blocks spyware, worms and viruses in real time at the network perimeter. Akonix customers were secure on day zero from each new threat with the deep protection and containment features of Akonix’s 360° Security for Real-Time Communications(tm).

“This is evidence that IM threats are becoming as mainstream as email attacks. Last month, IM vulnerabilities rose nearly 200 percent, while September brought the highest amount of attacks this year,” said Don Montgomery, VP of marketing at Akonix. “This trend shows we are heading for more IM trouble in the future, yet there are still companies that are unprotected from the latest IM threats.”

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, and is the foundation of the early detection layer of 360° Security. Detailed information about the September 2006 IM Threat Report can be found at www.imsecuritycenter.com.

For more information on how 360° Security from Akonix ensures networks guard against the security risks of unmanaged IM and P2P use, please visit www.akonix.com/360, call 619-615-9415 or email sales@akonix.com. Companies interested in putting Akonix products to work protecting their networks can receive a free 30-day evaluation of A6000 and A1000 IM security appliances at eval.akonix.com.

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.

Worldwide over one million people across hundreds of organizations in the Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Technology, Healthcare and Entertainment industries use Akonix products. With more than 20 patent applications, Akonix’s 360° Security provides the industry’s only automatically-updated protection to block 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, Jabber Inc., Parlano, Antepo, and Bloomberg.

An IM industry first, the Akonix IM Security Center (http://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.

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