Is spim worse than spam?

ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
edited April 2004 in Science & Tech
Spim - Instant Message spam - is more than just a nuisance: It's a security risk. The recent "Osama Found" adware campaign and Bizex worm attack show how easily IM technology can be manipulated to fool users into opening malicious code.

Osama Found was particularly sneaky. It took advantage of IM buddy lists to propagate its message. Users clicked on the link they received, believing the messages were sent by trusted contacts.

The Bizex worm delivered instant messages directing recipients to a website that stole financial information gleaned from their computers.

Neither was anywhere near as serious as worms such as Blaster or viruses like MyDoom which travelled by more conventional means. However, spim creates its own set of problems.

Spim immediately interrupts user activity each time it appears on the desktop, making it more disruptive at lower volumes than spam, IM security outfit FaceTime Communications warned this week.

According to messaging analyst firm The Radicati Group, 400 million spim messages were sent last year. Radicati reckons this figure will triple to 1.5bn spim messages by the end of 2004.

The risks posed by poorly-secured instant message communication have spurred a new sub-category of security software. FaceTime's IM Director is designed to control spim through a combination of sophisticated content filtering and a patent-pending challenge-response mechanism. Both features work to intercept spim before it reaches a corporate desktop.

Great :rant:

Source: The Register

Comments

  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited April 2004
    SPIM is going to be a huge pain in the butt, and the IM providers will have to find a way to deal with it.

    Most users should set their permissions to ignore messages from unknown sources, but when SPIMMERS find ways to access buddy lists, the IM software writers need to find ways to prevent it, or their servers will be severely affected.

    Dexter...
  • croc_croc_ New
    edited April 2004
    People just need to learn, don't click on links from unknown people, and don't open email from unknown people. Its as easy as that.
  • MedlockMedlock Miramar, Florida Member
    edited April 2004
    Yeah, well some people will just believe anything they see... The fools.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    What happened to storing buddy lists locally? That seemed like a secure system to me.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited April 2004
    croc_ wrote:
    People just need to learn, don't click on links from unknown people, and don't open email from unknown people. Its as easy as that.


    Ahem....

    Osama Found was particularly sneaky. It took advantage of IM buddy lists to propagate its message. Users clicked on the link they received, believing the messages were sent by trusted contacts.

    Dexter...
  • res0r9lmres0r9lm Florida
    edited April 2004
    Gaim has an ecryption plugin I wonder if any other im's have one?
  • croc_croc_ New
    edited April 2004
    Dexter wrote:
    Ahem....



    Dexter...

    Weak sauce. Didn't see that though, thanks :scratch:
  • EyesOnlyEyesOnly Sweden New
    edited April 2004
    It news like this that makes me regrett getting a modem. :rant:
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited April 2004
    But with SPIM the networks are owned and run by companies, unlike SPAM which is propagated through (normally) open networks. Basically it is a lot easier to remove SPIM as companies control the medium and therefore could take measures to lock it down.

    There are also IM SPIMs though that first add you to their contact list (then you normally add them to yours as they may be someone you know) at which point they can send you messages...
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