Securing public instant messaging (IM) at work

This report studies the security of Instant Messaging (IM) applications within the workplace and suggests a secure method of implementing such systems. There are many secure enterprise IM applications available in the market. However, insecure public IM applications are more widely used within the workplace. Reasons for this include a failure at management level to provide clear direction on acceptable IM usage and a lack of monetary funds. By developing an add-on encryption system that is able to function over public IM networks, companies that have yet to define an IM strategy or do not have the resources to deploy an enterprise IM solution can begin to make the transition to a more secure messaging environment.