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SECURITY FOR THE MIDMARKET

IM security best practices for SMBs


Joel Dubin, CISSP, Contributor
05.18.2007
Rating: -3.88- (out of 5)


Technology news and tips for midmarket CIOs
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Instant messaging (IM) can be beneficial internally and externally for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). It's also affordable and easy to deploy.

But that external connectivity, if not configured securely, can come with a heavy price. IM allows viruses, Trojans and other malware to piggyback into your networks far easier than email attachments. IM messages can contain links to malicious Web sites, and confidential data can be compromised. Spam over IM


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(SPIM) is also a threat.

Thus, security for IM is essential. Here are some suggestions and best practices for securing IM without breaking the bank:

Joel Dubin, CISSP, is an independent computer security consultant. He is a Microsoft MVP specializing in Web and application security, and is the author of The Little Black Book of Computer Security, available from Amazon.com. He also runs The IT Security Guy blog at http://www.theitsecurityguy.com.

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