IMlogic Threat Center Reports December Instant Messaging Attacks Increased 826 Percent over December 2004

Waltham, MA, January 3, 2006 - The IMlogic Threat Center, the industry’s first global consortium to provide global threat detection and protection for instant messaging (IM), today announced that IM security threats increased by 826 percent in December versus December 2004. As the number of threats grow and the rate of mutations increase, the risks posed by these threats is increasingly linked to significant financial damage and intellectual property loss. Attackers are progressively using rootkit software to hide the process, files and registry keys for the software used in their attacks. Notable threats this month include the myspace, “talking worm” and the much publicized Santa worm. These worm cap a quarter and a year that has see unprecedented growth in IM threats and a rapid increase in the level of sophistication in techniques used by their creators.

The IMlogic Threat Center released the following statistics highlighting the increasing threat level to business and consumer users of IM applications. The IMlogic Threat Center provides complete data, analysis and discussion of important trends. Key data released include:

IM threats in December increased 826 percent over December 2004;

IM threats in December grew and additional 241 threats; adding to more than 300 for November 2005 and 292 in October 2005;

In December, 41 percent of new threats targeted AOL Instant Messenger, with 48 percent targeting MSN and 11 percent targeting Yahoo.

Worms made up 87% of new threats with Viruses at 12% and Phishing attacks over IM at 1%

First talking “intelligent” worm identified (IM.Myspace04.AIM - http://www.imlogic.com/im_threat_center/index.asp )

This monthly report reinforces the findings of the IMlogic Threat Center Q3 2005 report, which detailed a 2,000 percent increase in reported attacks during the first nine months of the year. The Forth Quarter 2005 grew 12% over Q3 2005. Q4 2005 also grew 1300% as compared to the same quarter in 2004.

The IMlogic Threat Center helps companies stay abreast of these mounting attacks via strategic partnerships with Internet security leaders Symantec, Sybari, McAfee, and Postini and global instant messaging leaders America Online, Microsoft and Yahoo! The IMlogic Threat Center is the comprehensive knowledge base for known IM and P2P vulnerabilities and provides rapid response and guidance for protection against newly detected threats.

Addressing the IM Security Dilemma The latest release of threat data reinforces the fact that traditional anti-virus software is not sufficient to protect against the rapid mutation and spread of the latest IM security threats. Traditional anti-virus products rely on known threat signatures to protect organizations, often racing to release a signature after an outbreak has already been identified. The rapid proliferation of IM threats makes them increasingly more difficult for traditional reactive security approaches to keep pace. The inherent real-time nature of IM combined with the latest trend of increasingly destructive IM threats highlights the urgency for which specialized, proactive IM threat protections are needed.

“The growth in the level of sophistication and the advanced nature of the maleware payloads such as root kits and information gathering agents sends a signal to IM users that IM security is no longer a ‘nice to have’ technology,” said IMlogic Chief Technology Officer Jon Sakoda. “This rise in complexity and destructive nature of the threats requires organizations and individuals to put in place more adequate protections.” To find the most current and up-to-date threat information visit the IMlogic Threat Center Web site at: http://www.imlogic.com/im_threat_center/index.asp.

About IMlogic, Inc. IMlogic, Inc. is the market leader in enterprise software for instant messaging, the world’s fastest growing communications medium of all time. The largest Fortune 1000 companies across the financial services, energy, healthcare, government, media, telecommunications, technology, and manufacturing industries depend on IMlogic to manage, control and secure corporate IM usage, while satisfying compliance requirements associated with real-time electronic communications. For more information on IMlogic call 877-IMlogic or visit www.imlogic.com.