Trend moves to address IM security threat

Anti-virus software vendor Trend Micro is to push further into email security with the release of a product designed to defend against worms and other forms of malware that can be transferred by instant messaging.

The Cupertino, California-based vendor announced the immediate availability of the $15 per person IM Security for Microsoft Office Live Communication Server, LCS, earlier this week.

Instant messaging now is considered to be on the cusp of becoming as ubiquitous, and therefore risky, as email became in the 1990s, driven by the interconnection capabilities in LCS 2005. LCS will see IM become a more mainstream enterprise application, and Trend’s competitors in this sector, FaceTime Communications Inc and IMLogic Inc, have both said they are focusing on securing LCS more than ever before.

IM security products offer defenses against incoming spam, viruses, and worms, and enable the archiving and logging of instant messages as they pass through the network and before they cross to IM services such as MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and AOL. Security software can be configured to block access to IM entirely at either the application or protocol level.

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