In a prior post I speculated whether the secure instant messaging space had enough capital to support the players and current market size. (BTW - Since I wrote that post, IM provider Bantu raised $1 million in a Series B round).

Bah! Who needs capital to expand when you can have IM viruses to drive growth? This past week has been busy with IM viruses plaguing IM users of Microsoft and AOL systems (as if we didn't have enough computer threats already). Maybe these events will cause technology managers to take a closer look at some of the secure IM companies I cited prior. In any case according to InfoWorld, Cathleen Moore writes:

...While e-mail is still the primary vehicle for viruses and worms, the fact that IM is a real-time communication technology makes it a dangerous threat.

"The real-time nature of IM makes it literally the perfect medium for rapidly reproducing worms and viruses," said Nate root, vice president and research director at Forrester Research. "IM-borne viruses are the next big thing."

With e-mail, viruses are spread worldwide in a matter of weeks, but with IM the infection time is measured in minutes, IMlogic's deSouza added.

IT managers are starting late in the game trying to wrangle control of consumer IM because in most cases individual workers deployed the tools themselves without IT approval, Forrester's Root said...

Steve Shu