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Commwarrior threatens mobile phones

8 March 2005 23:07 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 5 comments

A new virus capable of attacking cell phones has emerged, and experts are warning that this type of virus could become more prevalent over time. This virus is the first virus that is capable of spreading using simple multimedia messages as well as Bluetooth. There have been no reports of attacks by the virus just yet according to Symantec Corp. Past viruses that targeted mobile phones spread through Bluetooth enabled devices, so their potential to spread was not very high.

"It's the first case of this nature," Ero Carrera, an anti-virus researcher at F-Secure, said in an interview Tuesday. "It would be equivalent to e-mail in computers. If it were to start going around, it actually has the potential of becoming really widespread." It could affect cell phones that run on Symbian Series 60 operating software. It sends messages to other mobile phone numbers and email addresses found in the users contact list.

The virus tempts recipients to download attachments that have messages like Happy Birthday. The biggest problem for someone with an infected phone is that they are charged for the messages the virus sends and also their battery is drained quickly. "We certainly are seeing a growing trend and an increasing number of threats targeting mobile devices and cell phones in particular," Oliver Friedrichs, a senior manager with Symantec's security response team said. "At this point, we really consider these types of threats to be in their infancy."

Source:
GlobeAndMail.com

Permalink to this article

52 new Symbian viruses discovered by SimWorks (20 April 2005)

Mobile safety is up to you (15 April 2005)

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Microsoft partners with Symbian (22 March 2005)

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Discuss this article!
venomX05 (Senior Member) 9 March 2005 9:01
And so.... The next evolution of viruses begins. Can't wait to see what new antivirus software hits cell phones and other mobile devices. [ + quote]
neewbie (Member) 9 March 2005 17:22
haha. viruses for mobiles, didnt see that coming! [ + quote]
venomX05 (Senior Member) 9 March 2005 18:01
Think thats scary.... Check out the article on this link. I read about this about a year ago..... Now this crap is scary....LOL.... http://web-japan.org/trends/business/bus041129.html [ + quote]
Ofnir1 (Senior Member) 9 March 2005 22:13
i agree, that IS scary lol. although i i think its friggin cool, its scary at the same time lol [ + quote]
venomX05 (Senior Member) 10 March 2005 5:14
AAhhhhh, right you are.... It is a great idea, because hey....how much stuff do we REALLY need to be carrying. Soon, your phone will be able to open your car doors, your house, and everything else. Because I am sure that you can say, that what is one thing that is a perfect example of status. Your cell phone. It is going to be cool, however, one has to really think about the security involved in it. [ + quote]