August 30, 2004
FaceTime, Akonix Meet FDIC IM Security Requirements
Both companies say their products meet or exceed the requirements.
In a July letter from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to all of its 5,300 member banks, the federal agency warned against using unmanaged instant messaging systems, taking particular note of the consumer-oriented IM systems such as AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger. Their use, said the FDIC letter, could expose banks to security risks, as well as privacy and legal liability risks.
The letter called for banks to install firewalls to block incoming and outgoing public IM traffic and strongly urged members to adopt intrusion detection system software while. The FDIC made it plain that it is aware of, and that banks should pay close attention to IM techniques such as port crawling and tunneling that make them particularly difficult to secure.
Both San Diego, CA-based Akonix and Foster City, CA-based FaceTime have announced that their IM security systems meet or exceed the requirements laid down by the FDIC in its memo. Akonix says that its Akonix L7 Enterprise, "gives FDIC members the power to impose security, management, reporting and regulatory compliance across both public and enterprise IM systems." The company says that this includes comprehensive logging and auditing, as as the reporting and archiving features the FDIC requires. FaceTime says that its network appliance blocks external threats, and its IM Auditor software monitors user behavior with logging and auditing capabilities.
"The FDIC has recognized the widespread use of IM within its member base, said Akonix CTO Dmitry Shapiro, "and is adopting a leadership position in educating the banks that they must meet key standards for security and compliance."
